The oil and gas company Exxon Mobil Vietnam on August 21 donated 75,000 USD to Operation Smile Vietnam to provide free surgeries on cleft lip and cleft palate of about 300 children across the country.

According to Nguyen Viet Phuong, Vice President of Operation Smile Asia-Pacific and Chief Representative in Vietnam, from now to the end of the year, the organisation plans to bring smile back to more than 5,000 Vietnamese children.

A 25-day programme to realise the objective is expected to see the participation of 1,000 volunteers, he said.

According to statistics, one of every 500 children is born with a facial deformity. In as little as 45 minutes and for approximately 250 USD, one cleft lip surgery can change a child’s life forever.

Operation Smile Vietnam has provided free surgeries to about 12,000 children since 1989.-VNA