Listerine, in cooperation with Operation Smile Philippines and Watsons, launches the “Rinse with Listerine & Gift a Smile” campaign.
Emiliano Romano, the Executive Director of Operation Smile Philippines, shares that this organization started in the Philippines in 1982, and thus had expanded to 60 countries. He shares that for every three minutes, a child is born with either a cleft lip or palate, and in the Philippines alone, one in every 500-700 newborn babies suffer with these conditions.
It is a common misconception, according to him, that such conditions are a big problem, but with Operation Smile, with the help of brands like Listerine and Watsons, a simple 30-45 minute (for cleft lip) and 60-90 minute (for cleft palate) surgery can help change a child’s life forever. In the Philippines alone, Romano shares that Operation Smile has provided more than 35,000 free surgeries in the last 42 years in 85 cities across the country.
The RSLP Head of Operation Smile, Ken Tort, discusses the importance of comprehensive cleft care post-surgery. After the patients recover from surgery, Operation Smile comes back to do speech and language interventions, aimed to correct their manner of speech and to educate their parents how to do speech therapy at home and go back to school. Additionally, therapies and their services are now easier to access in remote provinces through the use of the Internet.
Miggy Gamboa, Listerine’s Marketing Manager, shares the important connection of raising awareness to those with cleft lip or palate and the launch of their campaign “Rinse with Listerine & Gift a Smile”. According to him, there are still around 200,000 untreated patients in the Philippines and that Operation Smile’s goal in 2027 is to administer 100,000 corrective surgeries.
They also give free comprehensive cleft care through volunteering, referring, or signing up. Gamboa shows the promotional Listerine product; for every purchase in all Watsons branches, Php 10 is donated to Operation Smile’s speech therapy program.
Anne Clutz, a fashion content creator and a mother of two, shares her journey being a mom to two children who had suffered cleft conditions as a baby. She cites lack of available information as one of her roadblocks in being aware with cleft care, but online support groups had helped her learn more about the condition and ways to treat it. Clutz shared that one major worry that parents face when thinking of cleft treatment to their affected children is the cost it takes, which also includes the transportation if they hail from a remote area. Through the help of free surgery services like Operation Smile, Clutz reassures that it’s going to be difficult at first, but to see her kids recovering and undergoing speech therapy is worth the journey.
Starting on September 22, 2024, 10 pesos will be donated to Operation Smile for every purchase of Listerine Total Care in all Watsons branches nationwide until December 31, 2024. You may also volunteer, refer, or sign up a patient for FREE comprehensive cleft care.
