Positive News In Iraq

Smile Train: Mahdi Fadil kissed his son Oct. 28 just before he underwent a procedure to repair his cleft lip. Italian volunteers with Smile Train helped about 100 Iraqi children with cleft lips and palates at the former Italian military base in southern Iraq. Jed Conklin

In A Desert Camp, Iraqis Find Aid And Zone Of
Trust -- Christian Science Monitor

Camp Mittica gives average Iraqis access to international aid groups, such as Smile Train volunteers who treated about 100 children with cleft lips and palates.

Tallil, Iraq - Mahdi Fadil wasn't sure how his family could ever afford the operation to fix 6-year-old Husain's cleft lip.

"We have no money. And there was nowhere else to go," says Mr. Fadil. "In the 1970s, Iraq had the best medical system in the Middle East. Now we have the worst in the world."

But late last month he sat next to his son, stroking his curly brown hair as he recovered from an operation in a southern Iraq military camp. He was among about 100 young Iraqis who were helped by the team of Italian volunteers from Smile Train.

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