I have a close connection to this organisation following my own treatment for a cleft lip and palate at the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Cape Town.

Along with many of my colleagues in the Mott MacDonald Cork office in Ireland, I am running the Cork City Marathon in 2024 in aid of this cause as a way of paying forward the treatment I received.

For many people safe surgery is not an option. Children born with cleft lip and palate in the developing world cannot access the surgery they desperately need for a healthy, happy future. Instead they face difficulty breathing, eating and speaking and are left to live in social isolation due to the stigma surrounding their condition.

It costs as little as £150 and takes just 45 minutes to provide this life-changing surgery.

Thank you for helping me raise smiles!