CAMBODIA – Each year, approximately one in every 700 infants is born with a cleft lip or palate.

The deformity is a result of the lip or palate failing to close during fetal development. It can cause hearing, speech, dental and nutritional problems.          

In Cambodia, listed by the United Nations as one of the world’s fifty poorest countries, having surgery to correct the birth defect remains far too costly for most new parents.

Receiving the operation free-of-charge can change the lives of an entire family.

Sarat's last hope

Sarat, above, is the first child of Mr and Mrs. Tow.

Mrs. Tow’s first baby looked different than the other village children.

A seven-member household from a small farming community, the Tow family plants rice to earn a living. The income from their twice-a-year harvests isn’t much - just enough to sustain them.

So when Mrs. Tow’s son, Sarat, was born with a cleft lip, the chances of finding medical attention seemed bleak.

“The dream of bringing him [to a hospital] was far too much,” said Kittima Onlahoong, an Operation Blessing representative in Cambodia. “The parents work hard, but their savings would never be enough.”

In late August, the family learned of a cleft lip program being run by Operation Blessing in a nearby city.

Operation Blessing doctors performed the simple cleft lip surgery on Sarat free-of-charge.

“She was confident this was her last hope for Sarat to ever live a normal life,” said Kittima.

One week later, a team of doctors performed a surgery to successfully repair Sarat’s upper lip.

“Thank you to the donors who gave my grandson this surgery, when we couldn’t help him,” said Sarat’s grandmother. “I know he will go to school and play with friends happily when he grows up.

“He looks lovely,” she added.

The tearful mother

Horn Sokon had lived in pain for 13 years.

“Horn was born with a cleft lip,” said Kittima Onlahoong, an Operation Blessing representative in Cambodia. “So many children in the village teased her. As she grew older, she became scared and shy.”

Horn, above, lives with relatives in a poor farming village. She is the first child in the family to attend school.

Like the Tows, Horn and her parents also live with extended family. Their home was a small thatch-roofed house, with coconut-palm leaves providing some shelter during the rainy season. Like many farming communities, their village has struggled since the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979.

The family doesn’t own land of their own. Horn’s mother works 11-hour shifts in the fields for 75 cents a day, and her father looks after a neighbor’s cattle for as little as $2 a month. Every night the family forages for yams and potatoes in the forest.

Despite such poverty, Horn was the family’s first child to attend school.

“Even though they loved their daughter and wanted to bring her in for an operation, it was just too much for them to imagine,” said Kittima. “Where could they find the money?”

Then the Sokons heard about Operation Blessing and the free cleft lip program. Several days later, when Sokon’s mother met with OBI staff members, she was in tears.

Horn's new look has given her the confidence to excel at school.

“It was hard for her to believe somebody would help her daughter,” said Kittima.

On September 6, Horn underwent a successful surgery to repair her lip and mouth. OBI staff said the change in the girl’s demeanor was obvious.

“She was more confident in herself and her new look,” Kittima said. “She looked beautiful with her new smile.”

“Thank you to the kind donors who brought my daughter for surgery,” said Horn’s mother. “Thank you Operation Blessing!”

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Be a part of OBI's ongoing medical relief efforts by making an online contribution to help those suffering from extreme poverty and sickness.

 

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