Smiles For Speech Inc

The learning, the care is quite helpful to my community. Thank you for the good work.

Being a part of the team behind the scenes here at Smiles for Speech has been rewarding and fun. Sandy Dorsey is our fearless leader who inspires our team with her vision for the future. She has already been able to make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities in countries around the world. However, her focus has narrowed on Africa. She has multiple relationships with many countries in Africa. Sandy has already been able to support students studying speech therapy and also provide teletherapy to children in Africa. I can't wait to see what Smiles for Speech does next with Sandy at the helm

Indeed life can get tough, and the heat map of poverty isn't just targeted towards Africa , but rather it's a global problem we can all help by supporting with the little we can.
From my first day of meeting a staff from this group I had and still have soo much respect for their focus towards making the environment clean and safe to stay in and also how much they provide help to the deprived society.... so if anyone or group has to be appreciated this year I will like ti see them be awarded to keep the energy going.

I m very excited to meet Smile for speech in my life... Things I love about them is that, they are very serious about their works to help children of disabilities and Autism even beyond that...God bless them always.

Smiles for speech is an amazing non-profit that provides services and resources for children with disabilities (and their caregivers) in disadvantaged communities around the world. They are also serving to change the stigma around children with language disabilities by demonstrating what they can do and how they can learn.

Smiles for Speech makes lasting impacts in the communities we serve. We provide training and culturally responsive materials so that the work can continue after we leave!

Smiles for Speech is a nonprofit that is very accessible and easy to connect with. The team is passionate about education and ensuring that basic education is available to every child. It is commendable the way in which it implements projects to achieve this goal and I believe that there is a lot more to come.

The first time I heard of Smiles for Speech was in 2019 when the team came down to Ghana on an outreach program. I was a student speech and language therapist at the time in my second year. I didn't get the chance to join them but the excitement and enthusiasm that my seniors who joined returned with made me want to know more.

Smiles for Speech had and continue to have a positive impact on training of Speech and Language Therapists in Ghana. They do this through donation of learning materials and resources to the Speech Language and Hearing Sciences department of University of Health and Allied Sciences which I benefited from. They also organize seminars for students in the department.

The good works of SFS is not something one can say in one sitting. Speaking from Ghana, a great percentage of Speech and Language Therapists in Ghana have benefited from the good works of SFS, an appreciable number of children with different forms of difficulties and their caregivers also benefited and continue to benefit from SFS.

Thank you Smiles for Speech for being ambassadors of love.

Dr. Olawale Ogundiran
Head of Department
Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences
University of Health and Allied Sciences
Ho-Ghana
I assumed the post of the HOD and met many boxes containing teaching and learning materials {books, speech therapy materials, computer etc} donated by Smile for Speech Inc to our department.
Smile for Speech Inc also provides teaching and hands on training for our students across all levels.
Two boxes containing books were given last time the team visited and many boxes are awaiting dispatch!
You people are doing beautifully well. What an excellent team!
Thanks a million for your services to humanity.

Smiles For Speech has been an absolute dream to volunteer with. The prime focus of collaboration creates an environment that fosters education for every party involved. Sandy the founder, has put her all into this nonprofit and it shows. I hope to volunteer with this organization for the years to come.

I connected with Smiles For Speech earlier this year (2021) to volunteer my services through telepractice . It has been such a rewarding experience! This organization's mission to serve communities worldwide that do not have access to multidisciplinary services such as occupational therapy and Speech therapy, really resonated with me, and that is what lead me to want to give of my time, knowledge and expertise as a Speech Language Pathologist. The impact of Smiles for Speech is far reaching as parents tell other parents, who tell even more parents about the Smiles for Speech work. Working with Sandy has been a privilege. The genuine care and consideration that she has for these families is evident in her interaction with them, in addition to all of the hard work that she puts into Smiles For Speech.
It has been a privilege working both with Sandy and the families!

Nick Ogutu- Safari Yangu Communtiy Inc.
I got to know Smiles For Speech Inc through Darlene McRae, a speech pathologist, who was part of my team at Safari Yangu Community Inc that was organizing a educational/cultural tour to Kenya and Tanzania. Safari Yangu Community is nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower immigrants and bridge the gap between USA and Africa.
Smiles for Speech Inc and Safari Yangu Communty Inc have collaborated on many programs especially in Kenya where they're currently working with several learning institutions to initiate speech pathology training programs.
Sandy Dorsey, the founder, is a committed to the mission of her organization. She has travelled to many countries in Africa and the Caribbean, sometimes using personal financial resources to teach and offer critical services in underserved communities. My organization is a lucky partner as our missions continue to cross paths.

I was first introduced to smiles for speech by a friend at a time when I was working on a project on how to reduce and carefully manage communication disorders in my country. “Punguza Unyanyapaa” loosely translated as stop the stigma was informed by the toxic cultural stereotypes that surround communication disorders thus preventing many families and children from accessing therapeutic intervention in Kenya.
I was thrilled to know that most of what I was doing agreed with the vision, mission, and objectives of SFS. Their zeal to create global awareness and educate society on therapeutic services has helped in remodeling the attitudes of many towards communication disorders.
Since then, I have become a part of the nonprofit serving under program development. It is such a great joy and honor to be counted among this incredible team that strives to make a difference globally by touching the lives of many families and putting smiles on the faces of children with communication disorders.

My name is Marija, and I'm an inspiring pediatric speech-language pathologist acquiring my master's degree at LIU Brooklyn. I came across Smile for Speech one year and a half ago when I searched for the organizations through which I could go on a missionary trip to an African country. After screening the SFS website and talking to the founder, I knew it is the organization that I want to be involved with. Although we never went to Africa due to the COVID-19, I still have learned and gained many valuable skills. They will help me to be a kind and understanding SLP, especially here in one of the biggest multicultural cities, New York.

Smile for Speech enlarged my knowledge not only about my field but also other very crucial topics, such as cultural humility and responsiveness. I am very grateful to all the workshops, events, and speakers that have taught me to be more humble, kinder, understanding, and respectful to other cultures. After each event, there was nothing better than reading participants' comments of appreciation and gratitude. I always felt so happy and motivated to do even more.

This is not just an NGO, it is a movement. It is a movement that ensures that no child is left behind due to their deprived background and/or speech problems. This is a movement that is bringing together SLPs to impact the world. This is a movement that is putting smiles on the faces of children worldwide. This is a movement that you should be a part of.

Volunteering with Smiles for Speech on their mission to Ghana as well as assisting in their social media setup and website content are the best decisions I could ever make. This NGO needs to be noticed and assisted with all the good work they are doing.

Join the SFS movement

Smile for Speech has a wonderful team of therapists. During a session for my 3 year old daughter, I was amazed by the therapist's knowledge of little children. She was able to bond with my daughter on the first session even though it was a virtual meeting. My daughter is very shy and reserved but the therapist made her smile, laugh and even sing on day one.
The session was so revealing and educative; I wish we could have a session everyday.
I recommend Smile for Speech to any parent who needs professional care for their child.

I had the opportunity to work with Smile for Speech as a volunteer in 2019 on their Ghana project. The team was well prepared for the task. They brought many resources to help all involved - student therapists, the children, teachers and care givers.
As a student therapist, I will say that I learned a lot from the team. What was remarkable was they chose the underprivileged communities and provided free quality bespoke services to them.
Team Smile for Speech, keep up the good work and continue putting smile on the face of the vulnerable in our communities. Thank you ever.
Juliet.

I had an opportunity to working with the smile ������ for speech team two years ago as a volunteer. This was when I was reading my masters degree in speech and language therapy at the university of Ghana-Legon. I heard about smile ������ for speech through my clinical supervisor, Josephine Ohenewaa Bampoe. I really enjoyed my time with them especially with my mentors they were both very supportive at all times. I also learnt a lot when we visited the Accra Psychotic hospital ������ and buduburam camp.
It's been a beautiful experience knowing and learning from the team on smile for speech.

Sandra

I was a student , studying to be a Speech and Language therapist, when this organisation came to Ghana. They gave extra training which broadened my knowledge in the field. They organised a community clinic to attend to children whose families cannot afford the services and it was marvelous. They actually went through the clinical process of assessing and giving recommendation to parent and vigorously discussing each case and sharing ideas. They also gave out toys and other material we could use for children. I would like them to come back again to gain more knowledge.Thank you .

SFS does an incredible job of helping to train and provide support for persons with communication disabilities and their families. As a student speech therapist(2019), I personally benefited from close mentorship from SFS as well as free resources that were given to me to help work in different communities in Ghana where children with communication difficulties don't have access to services.

I found out about Smiles for Speech from their Instagram and knew I wanted to be apart of this amazing organization. I was amazed about all the work they have done to help create better resources for children from undeserved communities. As undergraduate majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders, I knew joining the student ambassador program would be an rewarding opportunity that I could not pass up. Being in the program allowed me to network with other undergraduates, graduates, and licensed SLPs. As well as giving back to the community and working on projects regarding speech pathology. I am honored to be apart of Smiles for Speech.

Smiles for speech is an amazing nonprofit organization!! As an RN, I had the opportunity to participate in a mission trip to Ghana. The team provided education and materials to schools, students and facility employees in a manner I have never witnessed. Everyone was thrilled!! This trip provided so much in such a short period of time. I realized that the most simplistic things in the US are simply not present in some other countries. The pathologists and therapist were AWESOME!! And again, Smiles for Speech is AMAZING!!! Thank you Ms. Dorsey for your vision and dedication!!

I first joined Smiles For Speech's Project Kenya team in January 2020. We were set to go to Kenya in April 2020 to bring materials, facilitate caregiver/staff trainings and collaborate with schools in rural Kenya. Due to the global health crisis, we had to cancel our trip, but that did not stop SFS from connecting to families globally and providing materials and resources. When we could not be there in person to bring resources, Sandy initiated a textbook donation that donated 2000 speech-language pathology and audiology textbooks to the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana. She sent 21 boxes of donated therapy materials to schools in rural Kenya, who needed sensory swings, chewy tubes, etc. to help with students with sensory processing difficulties. She worked with Kenyan teachers to develop therapy materials translated into Swahili to help students with functional communication incorporating aspects of their own culture. I was a part of Project Kenya Virtual which hosted 543 participants from all over the world (e.g. Ghana, Kenya, the UK, Portugal, India and more) where I was a part of a team to provide a variety of different trainings on communication strategies, hearing loss, prelinguistic communication and sensory processing disorders. In a virtual world, it was amazing to connect with so many people, families and therapists alike, from all over the world! I have continued to volunteer for SFS by working with interns. Together, we research, interview leaders in the field, and create content with cultural and linguistic responsiveness. Working with the organization has been such a bright, positive light in a virtual world. Sandy is working on several incredible projects, including partnering with Ghana's University of Health and Allied Sciences. Smiles for Speech promotes inclusion, diversity, cultural humility and responsiveness and fosters collaboration with families in global communities. I am honored to be a part of this organization!

In 2019, smiles for speech arrived with a team of volunteer speech and language therapists in Ghana. They brought with them, toys, intervention tools , and most importantly hope for children with special needs and their family. They taught us, newly graduated speech therapists, how to better understand and help our clients ; providing us with invaluable tips, strategies and tools to begin our journey as speech and language therapist. They gave us some of the materials we may need to Kickstart our journey but the most important lesson for me was that we may make mistakes at the beginning, but it shouldn't bring us down, we should be ready to always try again. They left behind a legacy, that will always be remembered and cherished. Thank you smiles for speech. Thank you so much Sandy.

Smiles For Speech (SFS) is an organization that I feel honored to support. This nonprofit organization is steeped in generosity. SFS provides resources to historically underserved populations and caters to communities across borders and boundaries. I will continuously and confidently pour into Smiles For Speech because I know that my efforts will change lives.

I first became familiar with Smiles for Speech via social media. I was blown away by the work the organization was doing to help children across the globe. The stories shared and passion of the founder and volunteers was so inspiring that I felt compelled to donate to the organization and support their efforts in Ghana.

Since that time I have now become an executive board member assisting with fundraising to support future initiatives. Everyone involved with Smiles for Speech exemplifies professionalism, selflessness and compassion. It’s an honor to be part of something that is making an impact in the lives of families and children in need.

I am now a Board Member of Smiles for Speech (recently December 2020) but before that, I collaborated with them to provide speech therapy resources for Project Kenya. I was very impressed with the organization's commitment to providing culturally responsive materials and services in this area. Sandy Dorsey, the founder, immediately got me in touch with a speech therapist in Kenya to design functional vocabulary books with relevant vocabulary and pictures that would be meaningful to the children and in their language. After the books were created, the Smiles for Speech team worked endlessly printing, laminating, and velcroing the books to get them ready for the children in Kenya. Due to COVID, the Kenya trip was postponed but that did not stop Smiles for Speech! I was amazed at how they adapted to continue to support the programs through Zoom trainings and textbook drives. It was amazing to see it all come together. After my experience, I was more than honored to join the board. I can't wait to see all of the good the organization is going to do in the future!