Vodacom Foundation

When 8-year-old Logan McClean runs onto the pitch alongside Springbok captain John Smit today, it will be a huge moment in his life, one that ranks alongside the operations he has undergone to correct the cleft lip and palate with which the youngster was born.

Logan is a beneficiary of a partnership between the Vodacom Foundation and Netcare which has seen more than 300 children since 2004 receive corrective surgery to repair their cleft lips and palates.

Up to one in six hundred children are born with a cleft lip and palate, a condition that disfigures their faces and impedes their speech. However, the condition can be surgically corrected, and the Netcare Vodacom Foundation Smiles for You project enables many of South Africa's "forgotten children", as they are often called, to receive the surgery that will set them on a path to a full and happy life.

The project is linked to Vodacom's Tries for Smiles campaign, through which R25 000 is donated by Vodacom for every try scored by a South African team in South Africa during the Vodacom Super 14. The campaign is also extended to tries scored by the Springboks in South Africa during the Vodacom TriNations and incoming Springbok tours.

Since Tries for Smiles began in 2008, almost R9 million has been contributed to the projects supported by the campaign.

In his short life, Logan has undergone two operations to correct his cleft lip. A planned third operation was not necessary thanks partly to his perseverance in doing the follow-up exercises required to finally close his palate.

Today, he is a happy and contented sports-mad youngster who enjoys playing cricket and is the goalie for his school's soccer team.