Lurbin’s beautiful smile hides a cleft palate that causes a speech impediment.

SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras – Behind Lurbin’s smile lurks a painful secret.

The seven-year-old is a bright child with a smile that reveals a gap where one of her baby teeth has fallen out. But hiding underneath Lurbin’s beautiful smile is a cleft palate.

Click here to help a child now!

With her family unable to afford the corrective surgery, Lurbin suffers from speech problems that cause the other children at school to tease her.

“I like to learn many things and play at school,” she said. “And I would like to have many friends.”

Five-year-old Eduard has a similar story. A beautiful baby boy with big brown eyes, Eduard was also born with a cleft palate. He had already undergone three surgeries by the time he was nine months old, but still, he was left with a speech impediment.

As he prepares to begin school, his mom has concerns about his future.

“I want my child to grow normally and be able to speak without problems,” she said.

Eduard also has a speech impediment due to a cleft palate, which is now corrected thanks to a free surgery sponsored in part by Operation Blessing.

Recently, the prayers of Lurbin and Eduard’s families were answered, along with those of nine other children, ranging in ages from one month to seven years old. OB Honduras and the main hospital in San Pedro Sula worked together to provide free cleft lip and palate surgeries for these children—giving them not only a physical transformation, but also a self-confidence they never had before.

Each year, thousands of children are born with disfiguring cleft lips and palates—a deformity that can create hearing, speech, and dental problems. Working with local hospitals and government agencies in places such as Latin America, China, Indonesia, the Philippines and parts of Africa, Operation Blessing has sponsored thousands of free surgeries that correct these problems for impoverished children.

With a gift of $500 (or $42/month for a year) you can give a child a new smile and a new life!

And when you sponsor a cleft lip or palate surgery for a child, you will also receive a special information packet about the child, with before and after photos—including a photo suitable for framing showing the life-changing smile you made possible.

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.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1997- 2012 by Operation Blessing International of this page and all contents. No part of this site may be used without prior written consent from OBI. All Rights Reserved. Questions or comments? Email us at operation.blessing@ob.org.