Worksop: Bannatyne health club raise a smile for cleft lip charity

Bannatyne’s Health Club in Worksop is holding a ‘fun’ fundraising day to support the children’s charity Operation Smile- a Mexican themed spinathon on Friday 21st November.
Guardian NewsGuardian News
Guardian News

Duncan Bannatyne, who is a strong supporter of the charity, has recently visited Vietnam with Operation Smile, following previous trips to Mexico to see for himself the life-changing work being carried out by the charity.

Mr Bannatyne said he found the experience ‘humbling and deeply moving’ when he travelled to Guadalajara in Mexico in 2013 with a team of volunteers from Operation Smile, who provided life-changing, safe and effective reconstructive surgery to 118 children born with cleft lip- a severe and debilitating condition.

On his visits to Mexico, Mr Bannatyne witnessed some of the operations first-hand and got to know many of the parents and children who the charity is helping.

Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity with a presence in more than 60 countries, whose network of more than 5,400 medical volunteers from over 80 countries is dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children.

Since its founding in 1982, Operation Smile has provided more than 220,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities.

To build long-term self-sufficiency in resource poor environments, Operation Smile trains doctors and local medical professionals in its partner countries so they are empowered to treat their local communities.

Visit operationsmile.org.uk for more information and donations.

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