Provide safe access to 25 cleft surgeries

This appeal helped to provide safe access to surgery to infants and children from the most remote and disadvantaged areas of Ethiopia. For families in rural communities the cost and distance of reaching the capital prevents infants from accessing essential treatment and surgery for a cleft lip or palate, which left untreated impacts child development, social integration and the ability for them to reach their full potential. The money raised by this campaign helped to change the lives of 25 Ethiopian children, Amen is just one example of the impact this campaign had.

Amen came to Arbaminch General hospital to receive surgery for his cleft lip, he is four months and two weeks old and came with his mother and father. The family found out about Project Harar’s programme from Facebook, his mother told us that her “husband uses the app and he saw one of the posts on Facebook and we followed up on the date of the mission. After that we travelled here so Amen can get his surgery.”

Amen’s mum went on to recall her experience at the hospital, explaining that “When he was first born the nurse saw him and told me that Amen has a condition. I did not see him at that moment, so I was confused and scared. She proceeded to tell me that he had cleft lip and that it could be corrected through surgery. She then handed him over to me and when I saw him, I cried, he was my first-born child, and I could not control myself. The doctors told me that he will be fine and that he could get the surgery once he was old enough.” 

When Amen’s parents took him home for the first time, many people asked them what had happened to him, and they had to explain that it was a condition he was born with. However, his mother told us that they were lucky to “live in a city area, where some people are familiar with cleft lip, and they told me that it would be corrected by surgery and how they have seen similar conditions before.”  Having people around the family who were aware of cleft conditions provided reassurance that Amen would be able to receive treatment which would allow him to live a life without health and social barriers. “When he grows up, I want him to be a good student and become a doctor someday, I want him to help people by his profession.”

Amen's mother wanted to express her gratitude for his treatment, "From the bottom of my heart thank you for all you have done and for all you are doing. I have seen many children you have helped before on social media and as a mother, I can tell you how happy I am to see children like Amen getting this surgery.”