This company tied up with an NGO to bring smiles to 10,000 underprivileged children

(Pinki was born with a cleft lip. The picture on the left is her before the corrective surgery and the picture on the right is her after the surgery. Smile Train India assisted with her surgery as well. Image is for representational purposes only)

It’s a sad reality that every year over 35,000 children are born with clefts in India and over 10 lakh children continue to live with untreated clefts and have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking.

The sadder part is the fact that cleft repair surgery is not only simple but also the transformation it gives is immediate. It takes all of 45 minutes of surgery to correct this birth defect, giving people born with it a second chance at life.

However, acute poverty and ignorance is what prevents most of these children and their families to get these corrective surgeries.
But not, anymore.

In partnership with Smile Train India, the world’s largest cleft charity, Bajaj Finserv, successfully completed 10,000 free cleft lip and palate re-constructive surgeries for underprivileged children across India, ensuring that these kids have a reason to smile.

Mamtaa Carrol, Smile Train’s Vice President and Regional Director for South Asia said, “When children born with clefts are provided the corrective surgery at the right age, they not only get a new smile and social acceptance but also the opportunity to go to school, learn a trade, get a job and become contributing members of the society. The impact of this simple surgery is both immediate and long term.”

With the help of 170 partner hospitals in its network, Smile Train has provided over 4,50,000 free surgeries over time.While Smile Train India has been actively involved in conducting free cleft lip and palate surgeries for underprivileged children who are forced to live with this congenital defect due to poverty and ignorance for some time now, Bajaj Finserv has been partnering with the charity for the last 2 years in a bid to enable children to grow up to be confident individuals and not face social stigma due to a defect that can otherwise be successfully treated.

Speaking about the initiative to fund cleft surgeries, Sanjiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv said, “Following in the footsteps of the Bajaj Group, Bajaj Finserv and its subsidiaries, viz. Bajaj Finance Limited, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited, support organizations and institutions that further the cause of social empowerment. It involves providing high quality services which are also cost effective, be it in health, education or any other field, to the weaker sections of society, without discrimination. Our partnership with Smile Train, which shares our belief in empowerment, is helping thousands of children, reach their full potential. This surgery not only provides a child with the precious gift of smile, but also a fresh opportunity for a productive and
happy life.”

It's heartening to see corporates with a big heart, going out of their way to help the poor and needy.

Image credit: Indiatimes