![Main fundraiser photo](https://images.gofundme.com/iYgnim4uLhbiiNOEhQe-sHSVZKQ=/720x405/http://i.vimeocdn.com/video/470674432_640.jpg)
Kate's Triathlon for a New Cleft Clinic
Donation protected
Help sponsor my Olympic Triathalon to build a new cleft clinic in Ghana!
Visit our website: www.thesmileinitiative.org
Read our article in Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/deniserestauri/2014/03/31/a-new-african-smile-empire-hopes-to-educate-kids-and-save-lives/
![](http://3b4efb995be6c5c64252-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.r12.cf1.rackcdn.com/1164678_1395712321.1444_multi.jpeg)
Spencer and I, post-cleft surgery #1.
MY STORY:
In 1995, my little brother Spencer was born with a cleft lip and palate. As we grew up together, I realized how his birth defect would effect his entire life living here in the US, a developed country: bullying, speech therapy, innumerable trips to the orthodontist and plastic surgeon all marked Spencer's childhood.
Last summer, in July 2013, I traveled to Ghana, to learn more about cleft care in the developing world. There, I found that the Komfo Anokye Cleft Clinic, providing free cleft surgeries to impoverished children in need, was defunct and limited, in terms of space and resources.
![](http://3b4efb995be6c5c64252-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.r12.cf1.rackcdn.com/1164678_1395712592.6155_multi.jpeg)
THE SPECS:
-There are no dormitories; thus, mothers who could not afford hotels had to sleep on the sidewalks outside the hospital, as their child recovered overnight
-There are no bathrooms available
-There is no cafeteria within the hospital
-The waiting room is outside, forcing mothers to wait hours in the African heat.
We're trying to change this, and build a new clinic! I am doing my first Olympic Triathalon as an effort to raise funds for this new clinic. Check it out at St. Anthony's Triathlon.
![](http://3b4efb995be6c5c64252-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.r12.cf1.rackcdn.com/1164678_1395712665.2505_multi.jpeg)
Please help Spencer and I's dream come true in building this new clinic, one mile at a time.
For more information, please visit our website!
Visit our website: www.thesmileinitiative.org
Read our article in Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/deniserestauri/2014/03/31/a-new-african-smile-empire-hopes-to-educate-kids-and-save-lives/
![](http://3b4efb995be6c5c64252-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.r12.cf1.rackcdn.com/1164678_1395712321.1444_multi.jpeg)
Spencer and I, post-cleft surgery #1.
MY STORY:
In 1995, my little brother Spencer was born with a cleft lip and palate. As we grew up together, I realized how his birth defect would effect his entire life living here in the US, a developed country: bullying, speech therapy, innumerable trips to the orthodontist and plastic surgeon all marked Spencer's childhood.
Last summer, in July 2013, I traveled to Ghana, to learn more about cleft care in the developing world. There, I found that the Komfo Anokye Cleft Clinic, providing free cleft surgeries to impoverished children in need, was defunct and limited, in terms of space and resources.
![](http://3b4efb995be6c5c64252-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.r12.cf1.rackcdn.com/1164678_1395712592.6155_multi.jpeg)
THE SPECS:
-There are no dormitories; thus, mothers who could not afford hotels had to sleep on the sidewalks outside the hospital, as their child recovered overnight
-There are no bathrooms available
-There is no cafeteria within the hospital
-The waiting room is outside, forcing mothers to wait hours in the African heat.
We're trying to change this, and build a new clinic! I am doing my first Olympic Triathalon as an effort to raise funds for this new clinic. Check it out at St. Anthony's Triathlon.
![](http://3b4efb995be6c5c64252-c03f075f8191fb4e60e74b907071aee8.r12.cf1.rackcdn.com/1164678_1395712665.2505_multi.jpeg)
Please help Spencer and I's dream come true in building this new clinic, one mile at a time.
For more information, please visit our website!
Organizer
Katelyn Edwards
Organizer
Tampa, FL