The Lifeline Express, a project of Impact India Foundation, entered into a partnership with an international non-profit organisation, The Smile Train, yesterday. The Smile Train aims at providing such surgeries for children in India and fund research to reduce the incidence of cleft lips and palates in semi-urban, rural and tribal areas in India. According to Charles B. Wang, chairman of Computer Associates International, Inc. and founding member of The Smile Train, they would work closely with Impact India in training doctors and volunteers to perform cleft surgery.

The organisation is reported to have achieved considerable amount of success in China, which along with India and Brazil, was a target area. But they were already operating in more than 20 countries worldwide, including the United States, Brazil, Chile, China, Ecuador, Nepal and Thailand.

The head of Impact India foundation, A.H. Tobaccowala said that he hoped with this partnership they would reach out to more of the 40,000 children that are born annually with clefts. The Smile Train aims to provide free surgery for 10,000 children in the first year. Said Wang, who is investing something to the tune of 10 million dollars in this project, ``If I become instrumental in eradicating cleft surgery, that means something.''