Last year my best friend's daughter Sienna was born with a cleft lip and palate. Watching Sienna and her family go through the process of an operation was tough. But Sienna was lucky enough to live in a country where there was no question as to whether or not the operation was available to her. 

I'm originally from Bangladesh and I've seen first hand people who spend their entire lives with this defect:cleft babies often struggle to eat as food will repeatedly drop out of their mouths....cleft children won't be sent to school for fear of bullying and the stigma...they grow up to be cleft adults who then don't have jobs or relationships. People can become isolated and live to old age accepting their fate. This easily treatable defect prevents people from living a full life

It costs just £150 to give 1 person the life changing operation. I am running the 2018 London Marathon and aiming to raise £5,000. With your help, this money can change the lives of 33 people. 

Think of the power of a smile...and then imagine not having the confidence to do it.

I am running for the amazing Smile Train charity which uses the "teach a man to fish" model. They don't fly medics in from abroad. Instead they provide training to local doctors who then perform cleft repairs within their own communities. These doctors go on to train other local doctors, thereby creating a sustainable system. Your donation gift will literally keep on giving again and again.