Dr Vincent Yeow’s relationship with SJP Asia has enabled charity alliance Smile Asia to expand and deliver life-changing facial surgeries across the continent. 

meet vincent

Meet Dr Vincent Yeow

Doctors are known for going above and beyond, but Dr Vincent Yeow goes one step further. The plastic surgeon, Chairman of Smile Asia, a global charity network that provides transformational facial deformity surgery, spends much of his free time travelling across Asia to deliver life-changing medical interventions.

The Singapore-based specialist’s skills deliver miracles to people in the most underserved parts of Asia. Throughout his years on medical missions across the continent, he has touched many people’s lives.

“After we performed facial surgery on one child in Indonesia, the mother was crying, and the team didn’t know why. We were concerned,” Vincent recalls. “After translating, we realised that the child, after their procedure, was finally able to say ‘mum’ for the first time in Bahasa [one of Indonesia’s languages]. The mother was crying from happiness.”

More than just surgery

vincent walking through park

These moments make Smile Asia’s work all the more profound. An umbrella organisation for several facial deformity charities, the charity alliance was conceived in 2012 and formally brought into existence four years later to reach parts of the continent with limited health facilities and deliver vital surgery.

Common procedures include cleft lip and palate surgery for young children, such facial deformities can impact feeding. The surgery delivered by Dr. Yeow can be the difference between life and death. For adults, the surgery can ease a life of discomfort and reduce social stigma. “There are lots of emotional stories after surgery,” Vincent says.

"For parents, their child is their world. Often, they think these conditions are too expensive or difficult to fix. We can do it in a matter of hours.”

Dr Vincent Yeow
Vincent by lake

Restoring hope beyond borders

Smile Asia has a unique operating model, bringing highly specialised medical and support staff to villages and towns across Asia where health facilities are often scarce. People travel for days to attend the charity’s medical missions and receive care.

The charity organises about 40 medical missions per year, flying in dozens of doctors and support staff to treat people with facial deformities across Asia. The group also runs a large centre in Assam, northeast India, which treats over 100 people per month and is one of the biggest specialist treatment centres in the world, and a further Smile Centre in Phnom Penh.

Performing medical work on such a scale requires support and investment, and Smile Asia has received backing from SJP Asia since its inception. SJP has strengthened the partnership over the past decade, providing crucial backing to Vincent’s team.

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Support that goes beyond donations

SJP Asia has supported Smile Asia with fundraising efforts and donations, while also providing on-the-ground support on Smile Asia medical missions. SJP staff have joined Smile Asia on two missions to the Philippines and one to Myanmar, helping with everything from patient imaging to family support and medical records.

“We need highly efficient people to help with medical records and organisations, so these volunteers from SJP have been a great help to us,” Vincent says. "When people see SJP working with us, other supporters come forward,” he adds.

"As a well-respected organisation, SJP has been able to help us in so many ways, from funding, raising our brand recognition, and helping us get support from other corporates."

Dr Vincent Yeow

Fueling growth through partnership

SJP Asia recently helped Smile Asia with a social media influencer fundraising campaign, promising to double donations from its marketing drive. The support will enable Smile Asia to continue its work, expand its reach, and help people in new ways. The organisation is working to set up regional hubs to distribute equipment more effectively and has big ambitions for the next ten years.

“In the next couple of years, we would also like to get into maternal and child health,” Vincent says. “Checking the mother’s nutrition, a child’s nutrition, after surgery. We also want to increase our interventions beyond cleft lip and palate. There are many less visible conditions we can help with, and we want to increase our service to become even more impactful.”