Vivian Exemplifies Beauty Inside and Out
When Vivian started school, the kids laughed at her so much she didn't want to live. Then she met someone who told her she should become a model.
![Damaris holds a photo of herself before surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-11/damaris-holding-photo-before-free-smile-train-cleft-lip-cleft-palate-surgery-kenya.jpg?itok=DymOCYlg)
Determined Damaris
Even when the whole world seemed against her, Damaris persisted. And won.
![livingstone in class holding before image](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2022-03/livingstone-with-friends-after-cleft-lip-cleft-palate-treatment.jpg?itok=FaFXg86e)
Livingstone Clings to Life
Cleft surgery was only one piece of Livingstone's journey from malnourished baby to star of his village.
![Nkunda before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/nkunda-before-cleft-surgery-super_0.jpg?itok=jbShDbx1)
A Walk to Freedom
Nkunda had to hide in the bushes on his journey to school every day. Something needed to be done.
![Kamse before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/kamse-before-cleft-surgery.jpg?itok=gx6GwXd2)
A Student Of Resiliency
Kamse was excited for his first day of school, but, when the day finally came, he was taunted all day long. Kamse ran home and begged his grandfather never to make him go back.
![Andrea in smile train scrubs](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/andrea-in-smile-train-scrubs.jpg?itok=hgVo5Es2)
Treating the Whole Child in Ecuador
Meet the brother-sister duo transforming cleft care in the mountains of Ecuador.
![Elsie held by mom](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/elsie-with-mom.jpg?itok=RaXYziQV)
![Cristina Solano](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/cristina-solano-headshot.jpg?itok=NNjUF_9z)
![Fernanda and cow](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/fernanda-and-cow.jpg?itok=MQ4WpgzD)
Fernanda: The Jolly Rancher
Wendy was 17, single, and scared. She had just had a baby with a cleft, and any help seemed far, far away from her family's ranch in the remote Andes highlands. But Smile Train was there.
![Jessica holds a baby](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/jessica-holding-baby.jpg?itok=QyjPMjYJ)
Jessica’s Wondrous Journey to Kenya
The following is Smile Train Accountant Jessica Lelling’s first-hand account of her recent journey, visiting Smile Train partners and patients in Kenya.