Kulula
kulula customers give kids something to smile about
30 kids to receive facial reconstructive surgery at the first kulula Smile Week
Johannesburg, 21 October 2011: Faces will light up when The Smile Foundation and kulula.com celebrate their first Smile Week in early November. With the help of kulula fans, the airline, in partnership with The Smile Foundation, has raised over R800 000 that will grant 60 disadvantaged children the opportunity to receive brand new smiles.
During the first kulula Smile Week, which runs from 31 October until 4 November 2011, 30 children will undergo life-changing facial reconstructive surgery at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Apart from cleft lip and palate repairs, numerous other reconstructive surgical procedures will take place during this week. Three lengthy facial reanimation surgeries will also be performed by Professor George Psaras, Medical Director of The Smile Foundation and the team from the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at University of Witwatersrand. Prof. Psaras is one of only a select few surgeons in the world skilled to perform this complex surgery.
“Facial reanimation involves the grafting of the Gracillis muscle from the inner thigh and parachuting this into the cheek. Microsurgery is then conducted to attach the veins, nerves and arteries,” says Psaras.
“This week heralds the beginning of an exceptional partnership between kulula and The Smile Foundation,” says Heidi Brauer, Marketing Executive of kulula.com. “kulula has a big heart and social responsibility is at the core of our values. We are a happy airline that puts fun and smiles back into flying, so when The Smile Foundation approached us, we saw a natural fit with what we do every day.”
The kulula website provides fans with a platform to donate while purchasing their tickets. And thanks to their support, donations between R20 and R200 grew to R800 000 in under a year. “This generous amount is enough to sponsor two full Smile Weeks and change the lives of many children with facial conditions. A special thank you should go to Dr Craig Wittstock and his team of surgeons for all their careful planning and effort which make this kulula Smile Week possible,” says Moira Gerszt, Chief Operating Officer of The Smile Foundation.
The Smile Foundation has been partnering with academic hospitals in South Africa for 11 years to help underprivileged children with facial conditions receive corrective surgery. To date, almost 800 children have benefited from surgeries around the country through the Smile Week initiative in state academic hospitals. For more information about The Smile Foundation visit www.smilefoundation.co.za or contact 0861ASMILE.
