Operation Smile South Africa will return to Mbombela from Friday to provide free, life-changing surgeries to 25 children with cleft lip and palate conditions.
Operation Smile is a global nonprofit which provides access to essential surgeries and healthcare, starting with cleft surgery and comprehensive care. It provides medical expertise, training, research and care through its staff and volunteers around the world, works alongside local governments and health systems, and is supported by generous donors and corporate partners.
Operation Smile said the Mbombela visit is the 15th local surgical programme made possible through support by retailer Woolworths through its loyalty programme MyDifference.
The surgery programme will take place at the Rob Ferreira Hospital in partnership with the Mpumalanga health department and with the support of 40 medical volunteers from throughout South Africa.
“Over two days of surgery, our volunteer medical team will aim to complete 25 surgeries. Without this intervention children with clefts in this province may have to wait years for the chance to receive life-changing surgery,” said Sarah Scarth, executive director at Operation Smile South Africa.
Operation Smile South Africa said since partnering Woolworths and becoming a beneficiary of the retailer’s previous loyalty programme MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet in 2011, it has provided reconstructive surgery and comprehensive care for about 500 people with cleft lips and cleft palates across South Africa.
“The programme has long empowered customers to support nonprofit organisations like Operation Smile, along with schools and environmental causes, simply by swiping their card at till points — with Woolworths making the donation on their behalf,” said Mbuso Mlambo, the company's head of loyalty and direct marketing.
Since its establishment in South Africa in 2006, Operation Smile has built a network of more than 150 active volunteers, comprising cleft surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists, paediatricians, dentists, speech therapists, psychologists, biomedical staff and more. They have travelled across South Africa and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa to perform thousands of life-changing surgeries.
Scarth said a key focus of the organisation was skills transfer, achieved through education and training for healthcare workers, both as part of and beyond the surgical programmes.
“Our long-term goal is to build sustainability so that this specialised cleft care can happen in the public health system, whether we are there or not.”
Operation Smile South Africa relied on some of the country’s most experienced medical professionals to upskill more junior medical staff.
Dental support will be an additional feature of the upcoming Mbombela surgical programme, with the Rob Ferreira Hospital oral health team, supported by Operation Smile, giving up their weekend to raise awareness about clefts and to offer basic dental treatments such as fillings, scale and polishes, extractions, dental restorations, fissure sealants and pulpotomies (root canals on baby teeth), so that children do not miss school because of dental problems.
“Dental care is a vital part of the overall treatment plan for people with cleft conditions. Most people born with a cleft — and certainly all those born with a cleft palate — need dental treatment because the whole jaw is affected. The more support we can provide, the more we can improve quality of life.”
A Legacy of Smiles: One Mbombela Family’s Journey with Operation Smile
Last year, 33-year-old Mbombela resident Promise Thembelihle Mathebula experienced the transformative power of compassionate care through Operation Smile — for the second time. When she was a child Promise received surgery for her cleft lip and palate through Operation Smile. In 2024, it was her son’s turn — baby Mpelo, then five months old, underwent a successful lip surgery and will return again this year for his palate repair.
“Thanks to the continued support of Woolworths MyDifference, Operation Smile is able to return to communities like Mbombela and provide life-changing care to families like Promise and Mpelo’s — creating lasting impact where it’s needed most,” said Scarth.
TimesLIVE
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