Despite the fact that it is government's responsibility to provide health care for children, many have failed to meet the health needs of the kids suffering horrible deformities like cleft and cleft palate (Booysen, 2003).
Many nonprofit organizations exist in the United States and other parts of the world. These organizations were mainly established for educational or charitable reasons with no financial benefits in mind. There is no doubt that every nonprofit organization has a specific goals or purpose. While others nonprofit organizations might consider and addressed issues of environmental concerns, others may prioritize political or religious issues as their goals. This paper will discuss another type of nonprofit organization that is devoted to making available free health care to children around the globe who families cannot afford it; and that nonprofit organization is Operation Smile (Philips, 1999). .
Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defect that takes place when the lip or mouth of a baby is not properly formed (Apel, 2008). Moreover, considering the location of the lip and mouth, this defect can also affect the nose of its victims. Cleft lip and cleft palate had caused unprecedented suffering to thousands or perhaps millions of children around the globe whose parents could not afford the cause of the surgeries (Apel, 2008). The global humanitarian works of Operation Smile is a clear indication that there are some nonprofit organizations that are willing to travel around the globe providing free medical services to the less fortunate in society (Apel, 2008).
After its establishment in 1982 by Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, Operation Smile became a community based nonprofit organization devoted to helping poor children in other parts of the world including United States (Peterson, 1999). One of the major humanitarian benefits offered by Operation Smiles to victims of cleft lip, cleft palate, and those who are seriously burned are free reconstructive surgeries (Peterson, 1999).