Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) is wrapping up its sponsorship of the Smile Foundation’s Smile Week initiative at Frere Hospital in East London in the Eastern Cape this week.
Smile Week is geared to help bridge the gap between young patients – most with cleft lips and/or palates – whose families cannot otherwise afford specialised operations and the medical specialists who can assist them.
During the week, one of several taking place around the country between May 13 and June 13, approximately 25 children from previously disadvantaged backgrounds have undergone life-changing corrective surgery. Dr Chris van der Walt, who heads up the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital, and his dedicated surgical team travelled to Frere Hospital to perform the surgeries.
One of the children is Zisuncumo (whose name means Bring a Smile), an eighteen-month-old boy from Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape, who was born with a cleft lip and palate.
Last year…