Doña María (Brazil) was part of the charitable program of the NGO Operação Sorriso, which provides free surgeries to low-income people who were born with a cleft lip or cleft palate; the result of her operation was so good that she even won a photo session with a professional photographer.
The dream of Doña María, a 67-year-old woman from Umarizal (Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil), was quite simple: she did not ask for money or high pensions for her old age, nor a new house for herself or her family, nor anything of that sort. She only wanted to paint her lips.
It turns out that the woman was born with a cleft lip, which is the joining of the right and left sides of the palate during gestation. She suffered all her life because of this condition, but she never thought that at her age she could change that fate.
IG: @operacaosorriso
The volunteer medical organization Operação Sorriso —”Operation Smile” in Spanish— travels throughout Brazilian territory, performing reconstructive surgeries for cleft lip and cleft palate for those who do not have the money to pay for them. They are present in 32 different countries and, to date, have performed more than 300 thousand free operations around the planet thanks to voluntary donations.
Doña María was one of those who benefited from the mission of Operação Sorriso, undergoing surgery in 2016 in the nearby town of Mossoró. The result was so satisfactory that the woman even won a photo session to show off her new upper lip; in the photos she appears with her lips painted red, and wow, does she look beautiful!
IG: @operacaosorriso
There are many people in the world who were born with a cleft lip and did not have it operated on, learning to live with their condition. But few decide to do that, since in a large number of cases people are ashamed to show such an obvious malformation and, in addition, it affects their self-esteem.
For that same reason, we 100% support the work of the NGO and invite you to learn more about what they do.
IG: @operacaosorriso
