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Every weekday Shawn Patrick sheds some light on some good news with His Good Vibes Story. Here is today's...
A world renowned plastic surgeon has performed nearly 40-thousand free surgeries to help the poorest children in India have better lives. Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh grew up in extreme poverty in India. His father passed away when he was 13-years-old, but through hard work and the support of his older brothers, he was able to get multiple medical degrees. About 20 years ago, he established a surgery hospital to provide reconstructive plastic surgery to needy patients.
Singh’s hospital partnered with Smile Train, a charity that helps children with cleft lips and palates, and since 2008 they’ve performed over 32-thousand surgeries to correct the palates of some of India’s poorest children. In addition to the cleft-palate surgeries, Singh and his team have also performed around 6-thousand surgeries to help extensive burn victims. His work inspired the award winning 2015 National Geographic documentary, “Burned Girl.” The film details the life of Ragini, a nine-year-old girl whose burns were treated by Singh.
Dr. Singh is highly revered by the families he’s helped over the years, but Singh remains humble, remembering where he came from. "In every cleft child who has come to me, I have visualized that little Subodh, who lost his father when he was only 13," says Singh. "My father Gyan Singh and mother Giriraj Kumari taught me to serve the poor and live ethically. I feel God made me a plastic surgeon and not a businessman to serve a divine cause."