UCT medical students raise R500 000 for the Smile Foundation

On Saturday, 26 August, the University of Cape Town (UCT) Surgical Society held a charity ball in support of the Smile Foundation, which was founded by Marc Lubner and former president Nelson Mandela. The foundation performs reconstructive surgery during each Smile Week, through the help of volunteer surgeons to assist children who suffer from cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. Since its establishment in 2002, this initiative has positively impacted the lives of over 6 000 children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Thanks to the generous donation of R462 000 from Momentum Metropolitan Health, in addition to the various other fundraising streams, the team of seven medical students from UCT Surgical Society, Kiran Kumar, Zahra Parker, Khwezi Zwane, Aliya Bhorat, Amira Botha, Samiya Bhorat and Kamva Dukada, was able to raise R501 000 towards the Smile Foundation.