This year we’ve been celebrating 21 years of transforming lives and smiles together!

Thanks to your support, we have accomplished so much. Read about the impact of your donations below in our annual newsletter Alliance Highlights.

In just five operating days, we completed 40 surgeries and 88 dental procedures in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in partnership with the Fundación El Cielo and the Rotary Club of San Francisco.

As parents entrusted their children to our care, they expressed deep, palpable joy and relief, knowing their children were finally on the path to the healthy future they had long dreamed of.

One parent gratefully shared, “Thank you to all the doctors for my son’s two surgeries. What I most wanted was to see him with his beautiful smile.”

These smiles are the true definition of success.

At Greater Accra Regional Hospital, our team provided 33 life-changing surgeries and 55 dental procedures to children and families in need.

For many, their first step toward a new beginning was also a long and arduous journey. Two-month-old Innocencia and her mother traveled 17 hours, and four-month-old Grace and her mother traveled 16 hours, all bearing hope of a brighter future.

Both girls left with transformed smiles and futures. They can now grow and thrive without the medical and social challenges of cleft.

Below is an excerpt from Brandy Pettet sharing about her daughter Grace’s journey with cleft and the impact of multiple surgeries by AfS surgeon Dr. Chris Zarella. Brandy and her community continue to raise funds and awareness for children in need.

“Cleft is not just cosmetic – from nutrition to the nervous system, the condition goes far beyond what is seen on the surface.

“Before undergoing cleft lip surgery, our daughter Grace couldn’t take a bottle; she wasn’t rolling over, eating without a tube, or sleeping more than three hours at a time!

“Today, Grace is thriving and unconditionally loved: she is eating on her own, phased out of her special bottles, sleeps 8+ hours a night, and no longer uses her feeding tube.

“I share Grace’s story, not for pity (she is anything but pitiful) but to spread awareness for something we knew nothing about. I share Grace’s story to spread strength and encourage others.

“She handles every step of her journey with amazing resilience and, dare I say it, GRACE.

“Please remember there is strength in every smile.”

We look back with heavy hearts at the passing of our beloved friend, volunteer, board member, and former Lead of Anesthesiology, Dr. Chih-Chen Fang.

Chih remains a deeply cherished member of our community, who gave his time, talent, and countless acts of kindness to our team, volunteers, patients, and their families.

We miss him deeply and will honor his memory in all that we do.

Our team completed a successful educational mission at Sohag University Hospital in partnership with the Rotary Club of Sohag, training the local team throughout 13 complex surgeries and providing 90 dental procedures

Local surgeons joined for hands-on training with difficult and unfamiliar palate cases, while residents closely observed.

Dr. Kristin Stueber noted, “There are already excellent surgeons here, but they’re limited in what they can do. Our job is to help them take care of their own people, to transfer knowledge.”

We trained more than 200 physicians, nurses, and students. For many, it was the first opportunity to learn directly from experts.

Now, the local medical team is better equipped to deliver lasting, quality care for their own community.

Congratulations to Executive Director Jessica Hansen for receiving the prestigious Global Human Rights Award at the Women Changing the World Summit in April.