Little Thando was born with Moebius Syndrome, a condition that causes partial or complete facial paralysis. She had never been able to smile. Every month, her mother, Thabile, wrote letters to former President Nelson Mandela, seeking assistance. One day, fate intervened, and one of her letters reached Madiba’s personal mail. Touched by her plea, he sought to help Thando and contacted Marc Lubner for assistance.
At that time, there were no surgeons in South Africa with the experience needed to perform the intricate procedure Thando required. She would have had to travel to the United States to consult with specialists. However, it quickly became clear that sending one child overseas at a time was not a sustainable solution. In response, Marc Lubner, with the support of the Independent Newspaper Group and other sponsors, convinced world-renowned specialists Dr. Ron Zucker and Dr. Craig van der Kolk to come to Johannesburg to train Professor George Psaras in the procedure. This initiative allowed many more children across South Africa to benefit as Marc and George formed the Smile Fund to provide ongoing surgical and psychosocial support to paediatric patients from disadvantaged communities through State Hospitals across South Africa.
Thando eventually received her life-changing surgery, and today is successfully employed. The organization continued to grow under Marc’s role as CEO and with Lubner Family Foundation funding as well as corporate and private donor support. Marc today is the Executive Chairman and Tarri Parfitt is CEO, with Moira Gerszt in the role as Strategic Relationship Director. In 2007, Smile Fund was registered as a Section 21 company and relaunched as the Smile Foundation. It was Nelson Mandela’s wish that Smile Foundation help as many children needing reconstructive surgery as possible and raise public awareness about the stigma associated with facial anomalies.
Today, that vision has become a reality, with over 5,200 children having received life-changing surgeries.
