Earlier this month I joined Smile Train on a Journey of Smiles trip in Kenya. While I always kind of knew what Smile Train did, cleft lip and palate surgeries, I learned that what they do is much more complex. I was extremely impressed with the work they are doing with the communities in Kenya. Smile Train is my pick for Giving Tuesday.

One of the complaints that I’ve heard about NGO’s is that they often come to an area, giveaway a bunch of stuff and then leave. The old – ‘give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day’ issue. Smile Train is a ‘teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime’ organization.

The complexities of cleft lip and palate in Kenya are well… complex. The journey starts with finding people who need surgery in a culture that often hides those who have a cleft. This can only be done by partnering with local organizations. Once you find the people who need surgery you need to build trust, help transport them to hospital, train doctors, support nutritional needs, fund surgeries, support speech therapy, orthodontics. I’m sure I missed something too. Cleft lip and palate repair isn’t just a surgery or two, it’s a lifetime journey.

Smile Train does not do this all themselves, they do it by creating long term partnerships with existing hospitals and local resources. Smile Train isn’t just fixing a cleft, they’re building a system to support families with a cleft affected member. They’re educating the community about clefts, how they can be repaired, and giving the cleft affected a chance to fully integrate into society.

There are many charities to give to, after seeing the work they’re doing on the ground, Smile Train will be on my short list of charities to support.

What’s your favorite charity? Why?