Wednesday June 17, 2009.  I saw a documentary called Smile Pinki that showed The Smile Train team and the work they provide to the poor.  Set in rural India, the film says there are 35,000 children a year born with cleft lip and palate.  They do not know why it occurs but think it may be a nutritional deficiency, as it occurs in the poorest of families.  These doctors can perform the surgery in 45 minutes for a cost of just $250, and donors fund the charity work.  It is the largest cleft lip and palate surgery charity, serving 75 countries.  The film tracked the story of one indian girl and one Indian boy, both with severe cleft lip and palate.  Neither would attend school because the other kids mocked them.  The boy’s speech could barely be understood due to the severity of his cleft palate.  Both awaited dim futures of an impoverished, unmarried life.  The surgeries literally gave them new lives, and promises of a hopeful future.

Watching the film made me examine the work I do and its value to the world.