We are two dental students from the University of Manchester raising money for a charity that we strongly believe makes a huge difference with its work!

Both of us have run a half-marathon before (separately, but in the exact same time of 1:40!), but we have since both torn the ACL of our right knees! This run provides the opportunity for us to work on our recovery while supporting a fantastic cause.

1/700 children around the world are born with a cleft. Clefts can cause great difficulties eating and breathing, as well as aesthetic deformities. In the UK cleft patients receive lifelong care provided by a team of specialists. In developing countries many are left untreated, leading to a lifetime of health, social and employment difficulties.

Smile Train provides free corrective cleft surgery in 87 countries.

Every £150 that we raise provides life changing surgery for a child.

We're hoping to raise £1,050. This will provide corrective surgery to give form and function to 7 children who would previously not have had this opportunity. 

Thank you for sponsoring us!

Michael and Junaid x

From the charity's website: 

Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate.
Millions of children in developing countries with untreated clefts live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking. Cleft repair surgery is simple, and the transformation is immediate. Our sustainable model provides training, funding, and resources to empower local doctors in 85+ developing countries to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care in their own communities.

We use the “teach a man to fish” model focusing on training local doctors to perform cleft repairs in their communities. Those doctors then go on to train other doctors creating a long-term, sustainable system.

Patients see their smile for the first time, parents cry tears of joy, lives and communities are changed forever.

As a result of our efficiency and with the support of our donors and partners around the world, Smile Train has transformed the lives of more than one million children by giving them the power of a smile.