What We Do
Welcome to Pass a Smile International, where we are dedicated to transforming lives and creating lasting impact in the lives of the visually impaired, widows, and underprivileged children in Ghana and across sub-Saharan Africa. Through our four thematic programs – Education, Livelihood Support, Feeding Relief, and Empowering & Developing – we strive to empower individuals, families, and communities, ensuring a brighter and more inclusive future for all.
Education
For many children, education is just a dream because they are denied access as a result of poverty, war or natural disaster.
Education is key and educating the children of the Philippines about dog welfare is paramount in helping secure the future of dogs as pets in the Philippines. If more people can open their hearts and their homes to a dog, there would be far less roaming the streets.
Our Education Programme is engaging and interactive – teaching children serious topics such as rabies in a light hearted way. We also emphasise how wonderful owning a dog can be, to encourage them to ask their families to consider dog ownership.
Supporting our Education Programme helps the future of the dogs of the Philippines.
We are providing opportunities for children at risk and those living in extreme poverty to receive an education by paying for their school fees, providing uniforms, as well as covering the costs of children’s exam fees. We are also working to improve the environment in which children learn and the materials the educators have available.
FEEDING RELIEF
We are passionate about feeding the hungry. We feed many children and adults each school day and the results speak for themselves.We have always been passionate about feeding here at Smile International, so much so that it’s our acronym for our main programmes, FEED – Feeding, Educating, Empowering and Developing. Being able to put food on the table and in the mouths of people who are desperately hungry has always been a huge part of who we are. We feed many children and adults each school day and the results speak for themselves. The difference a meal makes is incredible and when you don’t know when your next meal will be, life is just that much more challenging.
We really need your help to see more people receiving food. It sounds an easy thing to do, just sending money, but what you must know is just how vitally important it is. It’s not just giving money to charity, but it’s what that money achieves that’s life changing. Seeing the faces of young children light up when they realise the meal in front of them is all for them is both heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time. To see a mother’s relief when she receives a month’s worth of staple food supplies for her family and know that this is the answer to her innermost prayers is indescribable. To witness a widow, break down in front of you, full of gratitude for supplying food in her darkest times, makes you realise the significance of feeding the world’s most vulnerable.
LIVELIHOOD SUPPORT
In the United States, and around the world, You are helping fill hungry bellies and fight hunger-related health problems through compassionate hunger relief programs in homesentire communities! Livelihood support programs often include components related to nutrition and healthcare. Ensuring access to nutritious food, healthcare services, and sanitation facilities is essential for children’s overall well-being and their ability to participate in educational and economic activities.
Livelihood support initiatives may also focus on broader community development efforts. This can include infrastructure projects, such as building schools, health centers, or irrigation systems, as well as capacity-building activities aimed at empowering communities to sustainably manage their resources.
Some initiatives provide microfinance support or entrepreneurship training to children or their caregivers. This assistance can help families generate income by starting small businesses or engaging in income-generating activities such as agriculture, handicrafts, or small-scale manufacturing.
EMPOWRING & DEVELOPING
Our Empowering programme provides men and women with the opportunity to take control of their own lives.
To empower means to “make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.” We get so excited about empowering others and our micro-financing programmes are a great way of giving people the support that they need to realise their dreams and ambitions.
Our Empowering programme provides men and women with the opportunity to grow in courage, realise their potential and take control of their own lives. By providing them with the training, tools and encouragement they need, it helps people become independent, realise what skills they have, what they can achieve and how they themselves can provide for their families.
We have provided many different courses over the years from tailoring to carpentry and the passion and dedication from those who have attended the courses has been inspiring. We have often found that given the right support, help and encouragement, people thrive, lives are transformed, and hope is restored.