On the 20th of September, our team will be taking part in the London Spartan Super Race, a gruelling 15km onslaught of obstacles, all in aid for Operation Smile.

Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity, working with a team of dedicated medical volunteers who provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lip and cleft palate.

As young aspiring dental students, this is a cause which we all feel passionate about, some members of our team have been through it themselves or know of others who have had the condition.

More than 200,000 children are born with a severe cleft condition every year — often unable to eat, speak, socialise or smile. Too often, these children are rejected by the people around them, afraid to go to school and ostracised by their communities. In many cases, parents simply can't afford to give their children the surgery they desperately need.

In some developing countries cleft lip and cleft palate surgery is either too expensive or may not even be available.  That's where Operation Smile comes in, providing much-needed surgical services. Each year 200,000 free surgical procedures are given to children around the world, allowing each child a new start in life.

Operation Smile goes to great lengths to ensure that every patient we treat receives the highest standard of care every time, providing access to free dental care, speech therapy and counselling where needed.

A simple surgical procedure can help these children live a normal healthy life.

Our team believes that all children deserve to live their lives with dignity and for those born with a cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformity, dignity begins with a smile.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.