Paul Keenan
Readers of The Irish Catholic have been thanked for their generosity by an international charity helping children in need of cleft surgery.
In a letter from the Smile Train charity, co-founder Brian Mullaney revealed that as a direct result of donations channelled through this newspaper in recent months, six children have now received life-changing corrective surgery.
''There are six children in the world who are smiling thanks to you,'' Mr Mullaney writes.
According to Smile Train, it costs about €200 for the 45 minute surgery required not simply to repair a cleft, but to offer a child patient the chance at a normal life, often within cultures that would reject them for their condition. The charity says there is a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly and in many cases are not allowed to attend school or hold a job.
''On behalf of all the children you have helped, their families and all at Smile Train, I thank you for helping us,'' Mr Mullaney writes. ''You have changed the lives of six children, now that's something worth smiling about.''
