Real-Life Stories

These stories — from patients, health care providers, students and more — are made possible through the generous support from donors like you.

Featured Stories

Featured Story

We Build Hope: Celebrating Scars as Symbols of Resilience and Strength

Through inspiring stories of care and transformation, Operation Smile’s new brand campaign shows how scars are badges of hope — symbols of courage, strength and the possibilities that come when safe surgical care is within reach.

Help Build Hope

Recent Stories

Read the latest stories from Operation Smile.

We Build Hope

Li smiles for the camera while holding her stuffed bunny.

Global

Nine Inspiring Moments That Made Us Smile in 2025

From launching Operation 100, our bold commitment to bring care closer to home, to opening a new country office in Tanzania, to debuting our first brand campaign, 2025 was a year to remember.

We Build Hope

Guatemala

Proof of Care That Began on Day One

Junior Jeremias is always flashing his broad smile.

We Build Hope

Global

The Power of Storytelling to Build Hope and Expand Access

Operation Smile Chief Strategy Officer Kristie Magee Porcaro talks about the new brand campaign, We Build Hope, and how storytelling can help shift perceptions around safe surgery.

We Build Hope

Africa

Pioneering Change in Burundi: One Surgeon’s Mission to Bring Hope Home

Meet Clovis Paulin Baramburiye, M.D., FCS (ECSA), the first plastic surgeon in Burundi and a graduate of a new program through College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) and Operation Smile.

The crowd during a surgical program in Mexico

Latin America and the Caribbean

Beyond the Screen: Experiencing the Heart of Operation Smile Firsthand

During her first surgical program in Puebla, Mexico, our social media and communications coordinator discovers the depth, emotion and human connection behind every story she shares with the world.

We Build Hope

Global

Guatemala

Putting Care Within Reach: Mentorship Is Shaping a New Generation of Surgeons

Dr. Ivania Santos is just one of many surgeons receiving hands-on training through Operation Smile, gaining the skills to care for patients in her own community in Guatemala.

Real-Life Stories

Featured Stories

We Build Hope: Celebrating Scars as Symbols of Resilience and Strength

Recent Stories

Nine Inspiring Moments That Made Us Smile in 2025

Proof of Care That Began on Day One

The Power of Storytelling to Build Hope and Expand Access

Pioneering Change in Burundi: One Surgeon’s Mission to Bring Hope Home

Beyond the Screen: Experiencing the Heart of Operation Smile Firsthand

We Build Hope: Celebrating Scars as Symbols of Resilience and Strength

Beyond Surgery: Transforming Lives Through Comprehensive Care

Taking the Lead: Four Changemakers in Africa

Putting Care Within Reach: Mentorship Is Shaping a New Generation of Surgeons

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