Skip to main content

Some 200 Nicaraguan children born with a cleft lip or palate, a congenital defect that prevents them talking, eating and breathing properly, are being operated on this week by doctors with the charity Operation Smile, with the support of the Nicaraguan government. Operation Smile was founded in 1982 by Dr. William P. Magee Jr. and his wife Kathleen.

Open this photo in gallery:

A girl plays with bubbles before undergoing surgery in Managua, Nicaragua.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

1 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

People wait with their children before they undergo surgery in Managua, Nicaragua.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

2 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

A girl plays at a shelter before undergoing surgery in Managua, Nicaragua.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

3 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

Some 200 Nicaraguan children born with a cleft lip or palate a congenital defect that prevents them talking, eating and breathing properly are being operated on this week by doctors with the charity Operation Smile, with the support of the Nicaraguan government.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

4 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

Volunteer nurse plays with a girl plays before undergoing surgery in Managua, Nicaragua.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

5 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

Some 200 Nicaraguan children born with a cleft lip or palate a congenital defect that prevents them talking, eating and breathing properly are being operated on this week by doctors with the charity Operation Smile, with the support of the Nicaraguan government.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

6 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

A child sleeps at a shelter before undergoing surgery in Managua, Nicaragua.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

7 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

Some 200 Nicaraguan children born with a cleft lip or palate a congenital defect that prevents them talking, eating and breathing properly are being operated on this week by doctors with the charity Operation Smile, with the support of the Nicaraguan government.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

8 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

A woman watches her baby sleep at a shelter before he undergoes surgery in Managua, Nicaragua.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

9 of 10
Open this photo in gallery:

A doctor holds a baby after he underwent surgery in Managua, Nicaragua.Inti Ocon/AFP / Getty Images

10 of 10

Interact with The Globe