Dang Fang Before Surgery Dang Fang After Surgery Zhu Tiantian Before Surgery Zhu Tiantian After Surgery

Dang Fang is one of many orphans living in the Shunyi District of Beijing, China. As a newborn, this little one was dropped off at the orphanage because his impoverished parents couldn’t afford to care for a child suffering from both a cleft lip and palate. Dang is one of 26,000 Chinese orphans needing cleft lip and/or palate surgery. Without the operation, they will spend the rest of their lives without the hope of ever being adopted by a loving family. But hope has come through Operation Blessing’s Set a Child Free program!

Operation Blessing staff went to find the poorest children living with cleft lips and/or palates. They scoured rural areas in China and found orphans needing help. One was Dang Fang. In March of 2003, the 2-month-old and several others received free corrective surgery in a Beijing hospital! Now there is more hope than ever that this precious little boy will be adopted and live a normal life.

A Farmer’s Daughter
A normal life -- that’s all Zhu Tiantian’s parents desired for their 3-month-old daughter. Born with a cleft lip and palate, Zhu’s future looked bleak. The baby couldn’t nurse because she didn’t have the capacity to suck. Buying milk powder, bottles and other necessities were too expensive. Her family worked as farmers in Beijing’s Daxing county; one of the poorest areas in China. They scrapped by on an annual income of less than $400. When the family experienced a poor harvest, Zhu’s father had to go to the city looking for extra work.

Desperate to help his daughter, Zhu’s father sought out a doctor. He was told the surgery would cost over $1,250. This was more than three years’ salary! Searching out every possibility, he found out about our Set a Child Free program. Much to her parent’s amazement, Zhu was soon accepted into the program and received her surgery on March 12, 2003!

“Your help gave us great hope,” commented her father. “We are very thankful!”

To date, our partners have helped 48 Chinese boys and girls receive cleft lip and/or palate surgery! There are hundreds of thousands of children around the world still waiting. Please help us set them free from a life of pain and suffering their birth defect brings with it. Your gift of just $34 a month for 12 months -- or a special gift of $400 – will sponsor corrective surgery for one boy or girl suffering from a cleft lip or palate.

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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