Global Smile Foundation

Global Smile Foundation Our vision is a world where no one suffers from untreated cleft.

We provide humanitarian cleft care and provider training in the global south to promote universal access to comprehensive cleft care. In addition to surgical cleft care, GSF provides comprehensive, family-centered care in the areas of education, nutrition, speech therapy, psychosocial consultations, and dentistry. GSF engages with the local medical community in each country to provide follow-up care and ensure long-term sustainability.

Repost 🔄 : We are proud to celebrate our Board Member, Denise Franco Mera, on receiving a well-deserved recognition from...
04/29/2026

Repost 🔄 : We are proud to celebrate our Board Member, Denise Franco Mera, on receiving a well-deserved recognition from the Ecuadorian Congress for her humanitarian work and exceptional leadership as President of Fundación Global Smile–Ecuador.
Together, Global Smile Foundation and Fundación Global Smile–Ecuador provide holistic, comprehensive care to more than half of Ecuador’s underserved cleft population—supporting patients from infancy through adulthood.
Delivered with empathy and compassion, this care empowers individuals to fully integrate into society and the workforce, and to give back to their communities.

Most people think cleft is a cosmetic condition. A surgery, a scar, done.Eythan’s first months looked nothing like that....
04/03/2026

Most people think cleft is a cosmetic condition. A surgery, a scar, done.

Eythan’s first months looked nothing like that.

Born in February 2025 in Nobol, Ecuador, he was the first in his family with a cleft lip and palate. What most families don’t know until they’re living it — cleft affects feeding at its most basic level. The gap in the palate makes suction nearly impossible. Without the right support, malnutrition becomes a very real risk.

That’s not a rare edge case. That’s cleft.

Real care means surgeons, nutritionists, speech therapists — a coordinated team over months and sometimes years. By the time that support reached Eythan at 2.5 months old, his nutrition was critical.

Month by month, things changed. And in March 2026, he received his first cleft lip repair surgery.

When Denisse watched her son come out of surgery, she felt something she hadn’t let herself feel in months. Relief.

Eythan is recovering well, with his palate surgery still ahead. Behind every repaired smile is a team, a family, and a community that refused to look away. That’s you.

Meet Eythan. 🤍

➡️ globalsmilefoundation.org

03/25/2026

Thanks to our incredible sponsors, partners, and volunteers who made our SHP (Sustainable Health Program) in Guayaquil, Ecuador this March 2026 truly meaningful 🇪🇨✨

Your commitment continues to strengthen access to comprehensive cleft care—supporting children, empowering families, and advancing sustainable, integrated care where it’s needed most.

We are deeply grateful for every hand and heart behind this work. Together, we are building capacity, fostering local partnerships, and creating lasting impact that goes far beyond each program đź’™

03/14/2026

💙🧡💛 ANGELA 💙🧡💛

Her grandmother once told her she would give birth to a warrior princess.

But when baby Angela was born with a severe bilateral cleft lip and palate, the first moments were heartbreaking. Hospital staff wouldn’t allow her mother to see her newborn for two days.

Months of failed surgeries followed.

Then, by chance, her mother met someone in a hospital elevator who told her about Global Smile Foundation.

Angela’s case was incredibly complex — almost no central lip tissue remained. But our team carefully rebuilt what others thought couldn’t be repaired.

The result is extraordinary.

Today, that warrior princess is beginning life with the smile she always deserved. đź’™

03/10/2026

Meet Eythan.

For many babies born with a cleft lip and palate, the first challenge isn’t surgery.
It’s feeding.

Without the right bottles or guidance, getting enough nutrition can be incredibly difficult. For Eythan, it quickly became dangerous. In his first months of life, he became severely malnourished. His tiny body was growing weaker while his mother, Denisse, did everything she could to keep him strong.

When Eythan arrived at GSF Ecuador, the first step wasn’t the operating room — it was nutrition.

Over the months that followed, the team worked closely with Denisse, providing specialized feeding support, carefully monitoring his growth, and helping Eythan regain the strength he needed. Slowly, his tiny body began to respond.

And this week, after months of care and follow-up, Eythan received his first cleft lip surgery.

Today, he’s what every parent hopes for — a healthy, growing baby with bright eyes and full cheeks. Exactly the future his mother fought for.

But Eythan’s journey to surgery is also the result of the collective effort of many committed partners. Institutions such as , Fundacion Global Smile-Ecuador , del Guayas, , and Global Smile Foundation each played an essential role in supporting him from a situation of chronic malnutrition to the moment he was strong enough for surgery.

Stories like Eythan’s remind us that comprehensive cleft care requires coordinated care, shared responsibility, and deep collaboration.

And while this surgery is a milestone, it is not the end of his journey.
Eythan’s path of recovery, growth, and continued care is still ahead — and it will continue to be guided by the same spirit of collaboration that brought him here.

A heartfelt thank you to Team Ecuador and every partner who made this moment possible. đź’›

Leadership in healthcare grows through those who chooseTo mentor, support, and open doors for the next generation.Across...
03/08/2026

Leadership in healthcare grows through those who choose
To mentor, support, and open doors for the next generation.

Across surgery, research, education, and global care,
These women are helping expand access to treatment and shape the future of cleft care
Through Global Smile Foundation.

Today we celebrate the voices, leadership, and dedication behind that impact.
Happy International Women’s Day.

Three women.One shared mission: expanding access to cleft care.Today we celebrate three remarkable women advancing cleft...
03/07/2026

Three women.
One shared mission: expanding access to cleft care.

Today we celebrate three remarkable women advancing cleft care in their communities,
Transforming expertise into healing and expanding access to care for children and families.

Honoring the impact of women across the Global Smile Foundation network.
Happy International Women’s Day.

03/07/2026

Today in Ecuador, on International Women’s Day, we are witnessing the quiet strength of moms.

Tears.
Relief.
Hope.

Behind every child’s journey to healing is often a mother who never stopped believing it was possible.

Today, we celebrate her. đź’›

03/06/2026

Every child born with cleft deserves safe surgery.

But in many parts of the world, providers have limited opportunities for formal cleft training.

Over the past two days in Ecuador, students, surgeons, dentists and providers from across the region came together to share techniques, review cases, and strengthen the way cleft care is delivered.

Because our work isn’t just about the surgeries we perform.

It’s about educating and equipping providers around the world so more children can receive safe, high-quality care close to home.

We can’t be in every operating room.
But when knowledge spreads, the impact multiplies.

Safer surgery.
Stronger teams.
Better outcomes for our children.
What’s happening in Ecuador right now is nothing short of extraordinary.

This is our Multiplier Effect.

03/06/2026

At Global Smile Foundation, we see every day what happens...
When women lead, support, and lift one another.

→ Progress grows stronger
→ Voices become louder
→ Impact reaches further

Because when women stand together,
There is always space for more women to rise.

Happy International Women’s Day.

Wait… what if a smartphone could help guide recovery after surgery? 📱✨Today, we're announcing a partnership with Predict...
01/28/2026

Wait… what if a smartphone could help guide recovery after surgery? 📱✨

Today, we're announcing a partnership with Predictive Healthcare to expand AI-enabled postoperative follow-up across our global programs.

For our patients, getting back to the hospital after surgery isn't simple—it can mean long travel days, missed work, and real logistical hurdles. At the same time, smartphones and cellular access are now part of everyday life in many of the communities we serve.

With MyHealthPal, families can share recovery updates right from their phones—helping our teams monitor healing, flag concerns early, and reduce unnecessary return visits.

This is what progress in global health looks like: practical technology, meeting patients where they are, and extending care far beyond the operating room. And yes—it's pretty cool what's possible when innovation meets access.

https://hubs.ly/Q040N3X40

✨ International Volunteer Day ✨Today we celebrate under the inspiring theme “Every Contribution Matters.” Volunteers cre...
12/05/2025

✨ International Volunteer Day ✨
Today we celebrate under the inspiring theme “Every Contribution Matters.” Volunteers create a richer culture of service, bridging generations and supporting sustainable development. With over 1 billion volunteers worldwide—70% serving informally in their communities, every act of kindness truly counts.

To our incredible volunteers: thank you for giving your time, skills, and hearts to provide cleft care and hope. Your dedication ensures every child we serve has a chance to smile brightly. 💙🌍 Every contribution truly matters.

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Transforming Lives

Our mission is to provide comprehensive cleft care for patients born with cleft lip and palate in underserved communities throughout the world.

Global Smile Foundation (GSF) is dedicated to making first-class cleft care accessible to all patients regardless of geographic or socioeconomic barriers. There is a pressing need for sustainable cleft care in developing countries where the consequences of those conditions are devastating, if left untreated.

For the past 32 years, GSF founders and volunteers have been committed to developing and implementing comprehensive outreach cleft care programs with a focus on quality care coupled with empowerment and sustainability initiatives for local healthcare providers. This has resulted in our patient population having the confidence and tools to be productive members of their societies.