Help a Child Smile, Change a Life

Abdurazak, pictured to the left with her mother, is enrolled in our Early Intervention programme. She has a twin sister, and they were born at their local health centre where the midwife identified Abdurazak’s cleft condition at birth.

Abdurazak’s mother shared her thoughts with us. ‘This was very shocking for me because before this, I had heard people say that a child born with cleft could be a curse. When I first saw my baby, those words came to my mind and I started to look back at myself and wonder if I had done something wrong. It was a very painful and confusing time for me as a mother.’

When Abdurazak was born in February, she weighed just 1.8 kilograms (just under 4 pounds) and it was unlikely that she would survive had the midwife not been trained to identify cleft conditions.

As such, when Abdurazak was born, the cleft-trained midwife provided her mother with guidance on feeding her, fortified milk powder, and a specialist cleft feeding bottle.

In March 2026, when Abdurazak and her mother returned for a check-up, Abdurazak's condition had improved greatly. During the check-up she was weighed, and she had nearly doubled in weight, now at 3 kilograms. Abdurazak and her mother returned home with more fortified milk powder so that she could continue growing before receiving cleft surgery. 

Abdurazak's mother went on to tell us, "I am very grateful for the support we received. It has given my baby a chance to grow and a hope for a healthy future."