This year, Turbana and its social foundation, Fundauniban, joined forces with the Rotary Club of Uraba and 50 other entities, along with surgeons, anesthesiologists and specialists from the United States and Colombia to provide free surgeries for economically challenged individuals suffering from cleft lips and split palates in Uraba, Colombia.

The initiative, called "New Smiles for Uraba," completed 52 surgeries April 6-11 on individuals between the ages of three months to 24 years of age. "New Smiles for Uraba" helped relieve many of the physical burdens patients sustain from having a cleft palates or split lips. Through initiatives like 'New Smiles for Uraba,' Turbana and its social foundation, Fundauniban, are continuing their efforts to better their farmers' communities. These physical symptoms can include difficulty eating, cavities, malformed teeth, frequent ear infections, hearing loss and speech impediments.

This year, Turbana got involved with "New Smiles for Uraba" by donating $5,000 toward medical equipment and anesthesia in order to make more surgeries possible. In addition to Turbana's contribution, its social foundation Fundauniban has gone above and beyond the conventional treatment process by providing ongoing emotional and mental support post-surgery.

"We are extremely proud of the work our social foundation is doing with its cleft lip and split palate program," Marion Tabard, Turbana's marketing director, said in a press release. "Individuals born with cleft lip and split palate have many psychological hurdles to overcome. New Smiles for Urabá is a fantastic initiative thanks to the cooperation between all these entities, which allows for a large number of surgeries to take place within a single week. This gives a tremendous opportunity for people with cleft lip and split palate to have a better and brighter future."              

Turbana's social foundation, Fundauniban, has been a major contributor to the realm of integrative specialized care for children suffering from cleft lip and split palate in Uraba for some time. This year marks the 11th consecutive year that its cleft lip and split palate program has provided surgeries, rehabilitation and psychological support to the local community, and the third year that the program has adopted the "New Smiles For Uraba" initiative.

In support of the "New Smiles For Uraba" initiative, Fundauniban will rehabilitate these 52 patients, along with their families for about a year, depending on each patient's recovery process. Providing speech therapy programs, personal growth activities, self-esteem workshops and support groups will help these individuals transition into a normal lifestyle.

The success of Fundauniban's cleft lip and split palate program can be measured not only by the over 900 surgeries that have been performed to date, but also by the relief felt by these patients and their families after the year-long treatment. Within the program, the "New Smiles for Uraba" initiative integrates support from the United States through Turbana to help make the program more effective, and to assist as many patients as possible in a short period of time. The program's third year of involvement marks another successful round of surgeries and rehabilitations.