The Smile Foundation brought together business leaders, healthcare professionals, partners and supporters for its annual Women’s Day Breakfast at Inanda Club on August 8, celebrating the strength of women while raising awareness about the organisation’s life-changing work.

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The event, themed Rooted in Strength, highlighted the importance of women supporting one another while continuing to transform the lives of children requiring reconstructive surgery for cleft lip and palate conditions, burn injuries and other facial abnormalities. Opening the event, Smile Foundation CEO Tarri Parfitt reflected on what true strength means. “I genuinely believe it is important for the women of South Africa to come together. Not because we have the same story, but because we all understand what it means to carry responsibility, to persevere, and at times to quietly carry more than people realise.”

Parfitt said strength is not about pretending everything is fine or carrying life’s burdens alone. “To me, real strength looks different. It’s having the confidence to admit you don’t have all the answers. It’s making space for another person’s story, even while carrying your own. We are not strong because we rise above our hardships alone. We are strong because we stand together.” She also reminded guests that every successful surgery performed through the Smile Foundation represents the courage of mothers who often travel long distances and face enormous emotional challenges to ensure their children receive treatment.

Also read: Smile Foundation honours women who change lives

Marketing assistant Elle Velalis and master of ceremonies Khotso Rammopo introduced the foundation’s upcoming Socks for Smiles campaign, encouraging South Africans to wear colourful mismatched socks on October 16. The campaign promotes inclusion while raising funds for children living with facial differences and burn injuries. “Sometimes the things that make us different are the things that make us special,” Velalis said. She added that by wearing mismatched socks, participants are helping to start an important conversation about inclusion, kindness and celebrating people for exactly who they are.

Guests also heard from AI educator Paula Jones, who encouraged women not to fear artificial intelligence but to see it as a practical tool that can simplify everyday tasks and create new opportunities. She challenged women to become active participants in the rapidly evolving technology space. “We should be asking, what problem do I need something to solve? and then choose the right tool that’s going to solve that problem.”

Jones encouraged attendees to start small by using AI to automate repetitive tasks and save valuable time. Clinical psychiatrist Dr Skye Scott addressed the guests with an inspiring presentation on the science behind happiness and mental well-being. She explained that the human brain is naturally wired to focus on threats rather than positive experiences, making intentional self-care and mindful thinking essential. “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another, to choose what we pay attention to and how we spend our energy.” Scott reminded attendees that happiness is not about perfection but about intentionally choosing habits that nourish emotional well-being.

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