Members of Rotaract Club of SRM Easwari Engineering College Raise Funds to Support 50 Cleft Surgeries For NGO Smile Train
Celebrate World Smile Day with Cleft Patients and Families
Voice of Team ARAM 2021: ‘If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours’
Chennai, October 01, 2021:
As the country sees extensive participation by young volunteers during the pandemic, students of Rotaract Club of SRM Easwari Engineering College, Chennai partner with NGO Smile Train, world’s largest cleft focused organization that supports 100%-free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care for children. Associated with the cause since 2019, the students have raised funds for 50 Cleft surgeries.
Under their flagship program ‘ARAM’, the club organized various fundraising events such as Theatre play, Standup comedy and Music concert shows in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, they had organized a sequence of fundraisers abiding by the preventive measures for COVID-19. The club had organized various sports events to raise funds for the cause, in addition to trash-collection drives across Chennai to raise funds by reselling usable items from residential colonies. Through this drive, more than 2000 people were reached. The students hope to continue the journey of creating smiles by supporting cleft surgeries through various fundraising events in the upcoming years. ARAM was felicitated with the ‘best ongoing project’ award in the year 2019 and ‘Late Surjit Singh Sahney’ award in the year 2020 by the District Rotaract Council, RID – 3232, Chennai.
Cleft lip and palate, a birth anomaly, can be completely cured but it is important that children get treatment at the right age to live a healthy and productive life. This involves surgery and other related ancillary care. Delayed treatment can lead to speech and hearing problems, besides social stigma and isolation for the cleft patient. Smile Train India is an NGO which supports totally free cleft treatment. In the last 21 years, they have supported more than 6.5 Lakh free surgeries for children across India.
Speaking about the initiative, Smile Train’s Mamta Carroll, Senior Vice President and Regional Director for Asia said, “I am so proud of these students and amazed at their thoughtfulness. We need as many young volunteers as possible to propagate awareness and support for children with clefts in our country. It’s truly an inspiration to see students of Easwari Engineering College contributing to the society.”
Further to the cause, Dr. R.S. Kumar, Principal of Easwari Engineering College said, “Every child deserves a beautiful, healthy smile and it’s heartwarming to see how enthusiastically our students have set the bar for a social cause like cleft, so high. Thanks to organizations like Smile Train that are working towards the cause relentlessly.”
As a part of the promotional event for ARAM 2021, an Instagram Filter was created to endorse ARAM Program. The filter gained 70,000+ impressions online, which aided in promoting the cause to raise funds for Smile Train.
To celebrate their efforts, Smile Train India is conducting a ‘Virtual Townhall’ on the occasion of World Smile Day to appreciate the noble act of these students. It will be graced by plastic surgeon Dr Charanya Jayakumar from Smile Train partner hospital Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre, who shall address the gathering. There will be a session with the students of Rotaract Club of SRM Easwari Engineering College to understand their activities behind ARAM and interaction with patients and families who have benefitted from this donation.
About Smile Train
Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. To learn more about how Smile Train’s India’s sustainable approach, please visit smiletrainindia.org.
