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Angel’s Childhood
On October 3, 2012 in Navotas City, Philippines, Angel Gift Tubig, an infectiously happy child, was born with a cleft lip and palate. Because of this, she would get bullied by other kids, as they would often call her names. To cheer her up and give her that extra bit of confidence, her mother would make princess costumes for her, so that when people see her, they would see her as cute instead of pitiful. Whenever Angel would get a compliment she would wear the costume for as long as she can.
Beacon of Hope
Angel’s mother is a single mother of four and a contractual worker – applying to whatever job is available be it as a housekeeper, construction worker, welder and more. She does all she can for her children, but she simply could not afford the operation needed for Angel’s cleft lip and palate. She was graced with good news from her neighbor who saw an Operation Smile banner near an LRT station. With this, she was keen on getting her daughter that surgery and changing her life forever. However, Angel failed the first two screenings for the operation, as she was also very sickly. This was emotionally taxing for both her and her mother, but they didn’t give up. So on July 10, 2014, the day after Angel’s third screening which she finally passed, Angel was finally operated on.
Smiling and Determined
Five years after the surgery, Angel is now 7 years old, and is still currently being supported by Operation Smile with speech therapy, dental checkups, medicines and more. Angel is now determined to become a doctor, as inspired by the very Operation Smile surgeon that helped her. Her passion to learn drives her to find ways to attend school, financing her own snacks and meals by selling bibingka with her older sister. She has already received numerous academic awards. Angel serves as an inspiration to all as this little girl is one with a purpose – to join Operation Smile and be able to help other kids, like her, smile as well.
Operation Smile
A life-changing mission turned into a great vision for Plastic Surgeon, Dr. William (Bill) P. Magee Jr. in 1982, he and his wife Kathleen (Kathy), a nurse and clinical social worker, travelled to the Philippines with a group of medical volunteers to repair children’s cleft lips and palates.
With the resources to treat only 40 children, Dr. Magee and his team witnessed approximately 300 families anticipating their arrival with children in tow. People were pushing their babies to them, tagging their sleeves and begging for help in Naga City.
Dr. Magee vowed to be back with more surgical equipment and supplies, funds and volunteers. The need was there in the Philippines, and across the world.
This was the beginning of Operation Smile – a non-profit organization with the vision to bring surgical care to every child suffering from cleft lip or cleft palate.
About Life Community Services Society (LCSS)
Life Community Services Society (LCSS), established in 1996, is a social service agency registered under the National Council of Social Services (NCSS). Our vision is to enable every child to be the best that they can be. We seek to empower children and families through care and mentoring, providing support and crucial transition care to about 900 children annually from low-income and vulnerable backgrounds, including those whose parent/s is/are presently or formerly incarcerated.
The children in our care deserve a fair chance to grow to their fullest potential – for themselves, their families, and their communities. They need our strong support and guidance to integrate into society without prejudice and contempt.
Our child-centred mentoring approach focuses on building relationships and creating environments that are intentional, positive, relational, and sustainable, to enable every child to develop holistically in four domains of growth – socio-emotional, behavioural, cognitive, and physical. We reach out to the community through five core programmes –
Friends of Children & Youth, MightyKids, Families & Community, Life Student Care, EduGrow for Brighter Tomorrows, and Friends2Gather.
Partner with us as we help these children build strong foundations in their growing years and reach their fullest potential, with resilience, purpose, and hope.
Our Five Core Programmes
1. Friends of Children & Youth (FOCY)
Supports children and youth from 6 to 16 years old, whose parent/s are presently or were formerly incarcerated. FOCY provides casework management, social, educational, and care support. It aims to increase resilience in children and youth, and lower the risk of intergenerational offending.
2. MightyKids, Families & Community (MKFC)
Serves the children and youth of our community by affirming and nurturing them within a loving and learning environment at our drop-in centre. We focus on mentoring children and youth through creative and enriching activities that empower them to give back to the community. MKFC focuses on four core schemes, namely Life! Mentors, Life! Readers, Life! Sports, and Life! Tuition.
3. EduGrow for Brighter Tomorrows (EduGrow)
A child-centric, early intervention programme that aims to propel children (Kindergarten 1 to Primary 6) from vulnerable, lower-income families towards a path of social mobility through mentoring, group academic coaching and parents engagement. This is a joint project with The Hut Limited.
4. Life Student Care (LSC)
Provides quality student care services to primary school children by focusing on the total development of the child in a safe and caring environment, through a holistic Social, Physical, Intellectual, Creative, Emotional and Spiritual (moral) (S.P.I.C.E.S.) programme.
5. Friends2Gather
Aims to cultivate positive learning experiences by fostering mentoring relationships between mentors and children aged 6 to 8 from vulnerable backgrounds. Friends2Gather also provides befriending support to the families of these young children.
For more details, please visit https://life-community.org/
LISTERINE® Supports Operation Smile and Life Community Services Society
In partnership with health and beauty retailer, AS Watson, Listerine® and Watsons Singapore will contribute a 50 cents for every 250mL and/or 1000mL bottle of Listerine® mouthwash purchased at Watson’s Singapore’s retail store or Watson’s Singapore e-commerce store for purchases made from 7 Dec 2023 to 3 Jan 2024.
Anytime you purchase a Listerine® mouthwash, you make a conscious contribution to the smiles of children.
MCCY Permit No. 0068/2023
Support Operation Smile & Life Community Services Society
