One in 1,000 babies is born each year with a cleft lip and/or a cleft palate, and 1 in 10 of these children will die before age one due to the inability to feed. Cleft lips are lips that are not fully formed and cleft palates are holes in the roof of the mouth. To assist in addressing the surgical needs of Ghanaian children and adults suffering from such facial abnormalities, Operation Smile’s team of international and Ghanaian medical volunteers is coming to Ridge Hospital in Accra from December 1st – 10th to provide free corrective surgery. Patients from around the country will be brought by bus from the 9 regional hospitals and screened by a multi-disciplinary medical team on December 2nd and 3rd. In order to secure free transport to Accra, patients are required to pre-register before the 11th of November, from 9am to 5pm between Monday and Friday, by calling 0302 674 393. Transport will be provided from their nearest regional hospital to Accra. Those patients chosen for surgery should expect to stay for ten days and will be provided free meals and accommodation. After November 11th, patients should plan to arrive at Ridge Hospital for screening on December 2nd and 3rd. The missions consist of two full days of screening where each child is seen by each specialty followed by five days of surgery where anywhere from 120-200 patients will receive free surgery. This is conducted by a large multi-disciplinary team of 50 medical and non medical volunteers. A small post operative team will remain in Accra following the end of the mission to assess the patients. A medical team will return every 6 months to assess the follow up needs of the patients, including additional surgery, speech therapy, and dental care. Operation Smile in Ghana works under the umbrella of the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Services and is committed to the creation of programs leading to the self-sustainable treatment of cleft lip and cleft palate pathologies through capacity-building and working within the existing cleft infrastructure in Ghana. Operation Smile organizes, executes, and pays for the logistics of the programs with assistance from International and local community partners, including Lions Club, World Vision, Coconut Grove Hotel and Church of Latter Day Saints. In order to change the lives of Ghanaian children and to conduct capacity-building programs for sustainability, Operation Smile cordially invites individuals, companies and organizations to help Ghanaian children suffering with facial deformities and to join the organization in creating new smiles. Operation Smile is looking to create long term relationships in order to provide the free surgical and related health care to these patients for many years to come.