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.
![Miracle, at right, with her teacher and a classmate](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-12/miracle-free-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-uganda-smile-train-with-teacher-and-friend.jpg?itok=DOvtvvxR)
A Miracle to Believe In
A cleft mother’s true story of faith, miracles, and Smile Train
![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.
![Habeeba's family holds image of her before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/habeeba-family-hold-before-image_0.jpg?itok=ZLeorNaU)
A Father In Disbelief
When Habeeba was born, the doctor gasped and told her mother, Ahlam, he'd never seen a baby like her before.
![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.
![Cristian with dog](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/cristiang-w-dog.jpg?itok=zBHvC1e8)
Healing Heartbreak with a Smile (Dogs Help, Too)
Angelica was 15 years old, single, and had just given birth to a baby with a cleft. All she knew about clefts was how she had seen people with them harassed without mercy. But she promised to never give up on the little life before her.
![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.
![Rawda with a Cleft Lip](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/rawda-with-a-cleft-lip.jpg?itok=aCtshKtY)
A Deafening Silence For Initissar
"We would sell everything we owned to get Rawda's lip treated as soon as possible — nothing is going to stop us."
![Elsie held by mom](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/elsie-with-mom.jpg?itok=RaXYziQV)
![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.