The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) has been involved in promoting awareness about the severity of cleft lip and palate among children in partnership with the International Cleft Charity Smile Train.
Continuing with this charity cause, 17 Miss Universe candidates –USA’s Deshauna Barber, Colombia’s Andrea Tovar, Indonesia’s Kezia Warouw, Jamaica’s Isable Dally, Myanmar’s Htet Htet Htun, Mexico’s Kristal Silva, Haiti’s Raquel Pellisier, Nigeria’s Unoaku Anyadike, India’s Roshmita Harimurtthy, China’s Li Zhenying, US Virgin Island’s Carolyn Carter, Germany’s Johanna Acs, Great Britain’s Jaime Lee Faulkner, Dominican Republic’s Rosalba Garcia, Argentina’s Estefania Bernal, Vietnam’s Äặng Thị Lệ Hằng – engaged a one-on-one dialogue with some cleft patients during the Smile Train international children charity held at the Taft Room of Conrad Hotel in Pasay City, Friday morning.
The candidates were able to speak with Smile Train’s cleft patients about some of the changes in their lives since receiving free cleft surgery sponsored by the organization, challenges they’ve overcome and their dreams and ambitions. The titleholders were there to support the patients and provide advice and words of encouragement about working toward their goals and never giving up.
While at the hospital, the titleholders were given the opportunity to learn more about the organization’s sustainable model and interact with cleft patients, parents, social workers and medical professionals who are on the ground helping in the local community 365 days a year. Following the hospital visit and empowerment workshop, Smile Train hosted a private Q&A panel discussion led by television host Lexi Schulze, and some of the Miss Universe candidates at the Conrad Hotel. The candidates had the ooportunity to reflect and discuss the day’s worth of activities.
Miss Myanmar Htet Htet Htun, a 24-year old model, has been involved by the Miss Universe Myanmar Organization as a volunteer with Smile Train and wants to raise awareness for those who are suffering with HIV.
Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach met with Smile Train’s Country Director for the Philippines, Kimmy Flaviano, to kick-off the MUO’s partnership with Smile Train inked in December 2015. Since then Wurtzbach has lent her voice in raising awareness for children born with cleft lip and palate in the developing world, including home country. In September 2016, Wurtzbach joined Miss USA 2015 Olivia Jordan as Smile Train’s ambassadors for the star-studded Charity Day to The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund participated by charities’ celebrity ambassadors to conduct trades on the phone with clients.
“We are extremely proud to work with Smile Train, an organization that is committed to delivering a positive impact to communities in which we work, and we are steadfast in our commitment to help support their efforts and long-term sustainability,” said MUO President Paula M. Shugart.
Since 1999, they year it was founded, Smile Train has provided more than one million cleft repair surgeries across the world. As official charity partner of MUO, it hopes to mobilize MUO’s incredible voice to raise awareness for the vital cause of cleft lip and palate repair and related treatment and help transform lives in the process.
While Smile Train Philippines is honored to be working with the Miss Universe Organization to help raise awareness and bring more smiles to children with clefts,” said Coseteng-Flavaino. “Since the beginning of the partnership in December 2015, there has been great support and involvement from the organization’s international titleholders.”
For more information about the Smile Train’s global efforts and to make a donation, you may visit smiletrain.org. Or follow Smile Train on Twitter and Instagram @SmileTrain and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/SmileTrain.