The lives of 30 children in Peru were transformed this January through the help of Operation Smile, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free medical care — including reconstructive surgery — to children and patients with cleft lip and/or palate.
The lives of these 30 children were transformed as their smiles were restored through reconstructive surgery at Dos de Mayo National Hospital in Lima, Peru, according to a news release recently published on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Their surgeries formed part of the organization’s first surgical campaign of 2026 in Peru, which concluded on Jan. 26. The surgeries also built on the 467 others that the organization facilitated in Peru last year.
“(We) thank you for your commitment and dedication to continuing to provide safe surgeries and comprehensive care for our patients,” said Lizet Campos, the organization’s regional director, as she reflected on Operation Smile’s first 2026 campaign.
“Together, we will continue transforming lives.”
The 30 surgeries performed this January were made possible by the 120-plus volunteers — including doctors, nurses, and technical and administrative staff — who served in specialized roles throughout the campaign.
They were also made possible by the more than 55 full-time missionaries and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Lima and Callao, Peru, who dedicated time to volunteer in the campaign.
Together, these doctors, nurses, missionaries, Latter-day Saints and other volunteers helped provide young patients with comprehensive care across areas such as speech therapy, dentistry, psychology, nutrition, biomedical services, anesthesiology, reconstructive surgery and pediatrics.
Operation Smile has served in Peru for more than 20 years, “transforming the lives and smiles of hundreds of children,” according to the church’s release.
The organization has also helped hundreds more children with cleft lip and/or palate around the world, and The Church of Jesus Christ has worked with the organization to administer its care worldwide since 1991.
In addition to the recent service Latter-day Saints in Peru rendered with Operation Smile, another group of Latter-day Saints in Peru organized an event where children could learn proper oral hygiene and receive free dental care.
The event — organized by the Primary presidency of the Lima Peru Naranjal Stake — relied on the help of dental students at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and their adviser, Dr. Daniel Pérez.
By the end of the event, the students and other volunteering dental professionals provided care to more than 60 children, according to another news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org. They also delivered didactic presentations on oral hygiene, and parents left grateful for the dental care and education their children received.
