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Day 12

A surgical thread for the operation of a cleft child in India

A second chance for children with clefts A second chance for children with clefts

A surgical thread for the operation of a cleft child in India
Day 12
Surgery for children with cleft lip and palate in India

When the village children played together, five-year-old Dharati stood off to the side and watched the others with a longing look. Dharati could never understand why the children in the village avoided her or laughed at her, why adults pointed their fingers at her and whispered as soon as she came near them. She was too young to realise that it was because of her looks. Dharati was born with a cleft lip and palate; initially it was a huge shock for her family. No one had ever seen a child with a cleft before. How could something like that happen? The village community believes that the mother is to blame because she left the house after dark while pregnant. After five painful years, Dharati was finally lucky: her parents found out about the free treatment offered by the German Cleft Children's Aid at an information camp. They would never have been able to pay for the operation themselves because Dharati's extended family lives in the poorest of conditions. Dharati has since been operated on twice by the surgeon Dr. Sheth operated on her lip and palate. Today, Dharati is 14 years old. She enjoys not being excluded anymore, she enjoys going to school and playing carefree with her friends and siblings. Dharati's story shows how important it is to give children with clefts a second chance in life through surgery.

Surgery for children with cleft lip and palate in India
need
Surgeries for children with cleft lip and palate in India.
activity
Local surgeons operate on affected children.
Measurable performance
Number of children who were able to undergo surgery.
Result
Measurable increase in the number of children with cleft palate who have undergone surgery and who participate in social life, e.g. through increasing numbers of pupils.
Systemically relevant impact
Improved future prospects for children with clefts through education and complete integration into society, thus also relieving the burden on families.
background

Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common malformations. Children with clefts are born on every continent and in every country in the world. In Germany, the treatment costs for children with clefts are covered by health insurance and those affected are operated on in their first year of life. In India, however, around one in ten children with clefts dies of malnutrition before they reach the age of one due to problems eating. In addition to functional problems with eating/drinking, speaking and hearing, children with clefts suffer greatly from stigmatization and exclusion. Cleft lips and palate develop as early as the fourth week of pregnancy, when the individual areas of the face grow together from the outside to the inside. If there is a disruption in this phase of embryonic development, the layers of tissue do not connect completely. The causes have not yet been clearly identified. In addition to genetics, environmental pollution (e.g. from dioxins, coal dust), high altitudes (e.g. Andes, Himalayas) and malnutrition in the mother can also play a role.

Agra und Patna, Uttar Pradesh und Bihar, Indien
Day 12 Day 12
The good deed

For children with cleft lips, surgery on the lip and palate is the only chance they have for a normal life. This enables them to eat, drink properly and learn to speak clearly. They are integrated back into the community and can go to school, as many children are excluded from attending school because of their disfigurement. This takes the burden off the whole family. The suture material here also symbolizes everything that is included in our flat rate for cleft lip surgery: e.g. transport of the children, surgery, anesthesia and hospital stay.|For children with cleft lips, surgery on the lip and palate is the only hope they have for a normal life. They can eat and drink properly and learn to speak clearly. They are integrated back into the community and can go to school (many children are excluded from classes because of their disfigurement). This therefore helps the whole family. The sutures replace everything that is included in our package for cleft lip surgery: e.g. transport of the children, the operation, the anesthesia and the hospital stay.

AboutIndia
New Delhi
New Delhi
Capital city
1 252 139 600
1 252 139 600
Population
1 627 USD
1 627 USD
Gross domestic product per capita per year
135
135
Human Development Index (Human Development Index)

India is the most populous country in the world after China. On May 25, 2014, the Indian girl Malavath Purna climbed Mount Everest at just 13 years old, making her the youngest woman in the world to do so.

About the organization and further information

organization

German Cleft Children's Aid

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