Smile Train India Awarded Oracle Grant for Free Cleft Treatment for Children in Need

The grant is part of Oracle's commitment to advance education, protect the environment, and strengthen communities

NEW DELHI, Sept. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Smile Train India, the world's leading cleft organization, announced today that they have received their second grant from Oracle, a global leader in cloud applications and platform services. The grant for FY 19-20, will help support free cleft surgeries and comprehensive cleft care for 365 children in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The cleft treatment will be provided at Hyderabad. 

In India, it is estimated that more than 35,000 babies are born with clefts every year. Hundreds of thousands of children with untreated clefts live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking, as their families cannot afford the life-transforming cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care they need. Smile Train India's 'teach a man to fish' model focuses on training, funding, and supplying resources for local medical professionals to provide cleft treatment in their own communities. These medical professionals then go on to train other medical professionals, creating a long-term and sustainable system.

Through its sustainable model, Smile Train India has supported more than 550,000 free cleft surgeries across India, through a network of 160+ partner hospitals.

"We are delighted to collaborate with Oracle again this year in supporting cleft treatment for children. Timely cleft surgeries give children the opportunity to live healthy and productive lives. Long term support from organizations like Oracle is vital in building sustainability, and this grant will help us continue to strengthen our cleft treatment programs in Hyderabad and allow us to reach out to more cleft patients through our partner hospitals," said Mamta Carroll, Vice President and Regional Director, Asia, Smile Train.

"We are proud to support Smile Train India, which transforms children's lives and life prospects daily, and builds capacity in the local medical community to do more of the same," said Colleen Cassity, Executive Director, Oracle Corporate Citizenship.

About Smile Train India

Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children's lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. To learn more about how Smile Train's India's sustainable approach, means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact please visit smiletrainindia.org.

Cleft Facts: India

• Every year, more than 35,000 babies are born with clefts in India.
• Children with untreated clefts often have difficulty in eating, breathing and speaking.
• In India, hundreds of thousands of children with untreated clefts live a life of isolation, may not attend school and have difficulty finding jobs when they grow up.
• Cleft surgery can take as little as 45 minutes, is safe and the transformation is immediate.
• Cleft treatment gives children the opportunity for a brighter future. They have the opportunity to go to school, get a job and become contributing members of society.
• According to an independent study - Economic Valuation of the Global Burden of Cleft Disease Averted by a Large Cleft Charity - published in the British Medical Journal Global Health, the return on investment of cleft surgery, which can cost as little as $250, in a developing country can be as much as 150X, which is an extraordinary value of return.

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Media Contact:
Anjali Katoch
[email protected]
Smile Train India