From left are the Haraldsen brothers, Dune and Asher, who joined Kiran Cato on his bottle cap collection project to help raise funds for Operation Smile South Africa.

Three young boys from the southern suburbs are collecting plastic bottle tops to help fund life-changing surgery for children born with cleft lip and palate conditions.

Kiran Cato, 11, from Kenilworth, together with brothers Asher and Dune Haraldsen, from Plumstead, are raising funds for Operation Smile South Africa (OSSA), a non-profit organisation that provides free corrective surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children and adults in need.

Kiran, a learner at St Joseph's Marist College, has collected the bulk of over 2 100kg of bottle tops gathered so far.

The boys hope to reach 2 200kg, enough to fund one cleft-lip reconstruction surgery.