Impact Videos: Stories of Change

Watch stories of Comprehensive Cleft Care transform the lives of families, and meet the professionals moving CCC forward.

Janani's Confidence at School and in her Community

Janani was born with a cleft in Tamil Nadu, India. She's received cleft care since she was 17 days old. See how speech therapy has built her confidence and meet the teacher who's become an advocate of community-based cleft care!

Voice Over:

Cleft lip and palate affects 1 in 700 children, making it one of the world’s most common birth anomalies.

Clefts can limit a child’s ability to breathe, to eat, to speak and to participate in community life.

Transforming Faces’ local partners provide ongoing care for children and their families, closer to home.

Janani:

My name is Janani.

I am studying in 7th grade, A section.

During speech therapy, they keep a written sentence ready.

They teach me how to say it and ensure that I pronounce it right.

Manjula:

My name is Manjula. I am Janani’s class teacher.

I rarely meet children with cleft lip and palate.

I didn’t know Janani was born with cleft. I thought that she had a problem with her throat or voice.

Her mother told me that she had a cleft
and that she is receiving Comprehensive Cleft Care.

She has good self-confidence.

She speaks courageously and confidently.

She doesn't allow herself to be limited her condition.

I believe she will have a good future.

Janani:

When I grow up, I want to become a doctor.

I want to give speech therapy to children like me.

Whatever their condition, whether fever or if they speak like me, I want to go to their homes to help them.

I am happy children receive these services
through the community project and I welcome this.
I know that children who participate in the community project will be well supported for their futures. We all believe this.

Voice Over:

Janani has been receiving Comprehensive Cleft Care in Tamil Nadu since she was 17 days old.

Today, participating in regular speech therapy supports her excellent progress in school.

To donate or learn more:
transformingfaces.org

Meet Families Accessing Community-Based Cleft Care in South India

Get a glimpse into the stories of children and families who have been accessing Comprehensive Cleft Care through the same trusted local care team - much closer to home.

TAMIL NADU, INDIA

Sandhya, Project Participant:

My name is Sandhya. Mom told me that everyone made fun of me when I was born. They spoke badly of me. They would ask, “Why is this child born like this?”

I felt bad and guilty. I was asking myself, “Why was I born this way?”.

Captions:

1 in 700 children are born with a cleft lip or palate.
It is one of the most common birth anomalies worldwide.

Children born with a cleft may face difficulties breastfeeding, eating, speaking and hearing. Stigma in the community is another challenge families face.

Transforming Faces and Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER) partner to provide ongoing Comprehensive Cleft Care,
closer to home, for families in rural Tamil Nadu, India.

Prof. Roopa Nagarajan, Project Advisor & Speech & Language Pathologist / Audiologist- SRIHER:

We started our cleft care services in 2000 and very quickly we realized
that most of our clients, most of our patients, came from very far away.

And none of them could actually come back after the surgery to receive speech or dental services on a regular basis. And therefore, we knew if we wanted to provide
Comprehensive Cleft Care we had to think innovatively. And find a way in which we could supplement hospital services with community-based services as close to the child’s home as possible.

That’s where our inspiration was.

Devi, Mother of Project Participant:

Since he was a 6-month-old he has been getting treatment.

At Cuddalore camp, they give us speech treatment, hearing treatment, everything.

Sri Sai, Project Participant:

When I go to the camp, they look at my teeth and check their condition.

In speech therapy, they taught me how to speak properly, how to pronounce letters such as ‘ka’, tha’ etc. and how to speak Tamil fluently in the correct way.

Devi:

After the treatments everything has improved. The words he spoke were a lot more intelligible than before. Step by step his activities became like a normal child.

Prof. Roopa Nagarajan:

There are very few speech pathologists and very few specialized orthodontists available. And therefore if there is nobody available we have to find a way to reach the services to them.

Dr. B. Subramaniyan, Project Lead (2011 - 2022) & Speech Language Pathologist - SRIHER:

Everybody has a very important role to play.

Parents, community workers, NGOs and then the team from the tertiary care hospital.

Jothi, Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Worker, Thiruvannamalai District

Through our Ramachandra Hospital, continuous follow-up is provided
from early childhood onwards for children with cleft lip and palate in particular.

While the child is growing up, we give dental treatment, conduct camps and do many such works in the district.

We bring the dentistry bus from our hospital to their neighbourhood and give them [families] training and treatment here.

Radhika, Project Participant:

I have been getting treatment from SRIHER since my childhood. I have gone through various surgeries. I have gone through dental treatment and speech therapy treatment.

I am not financially sound. I am not from a wealthy family. My father is a driver. Without these camps, I can’t imagine my treatment.

Dr. B. Subramaniyan:

What Transforming Faces did to this is to be able to support them and their community. This has built a very good relationship between the treating team
and the patients and their families.

Prof. Roopa Nagarajan:

We have seen some of our children grow, right through this project over the past 10-15 years almost now ...and we have seen them grow and become productive members of the community. But most heartwarming is that they come back to our camps and serve as volunteers to help other children reach where they have reached.

Sandhya:

Through the practice given, I learned to speak well. Now I am running a YouTube channel. Using my own voice, I am posting videos. Even now, many people leave comments saying, “Your voice is nice”.

I feel very happy whenever I hear that.

I will tell them, please go for speech therapy. I will give them confidence. When my channel reaches a greater level, I will speak about all the challenges I have faced since the very beginning.

Captions:

Over 680 children and families from rural districts of Tamil Nadu have accessed ongoing support in their journey toward full rehabilitation and community inclusion.

Transforming Faces & SRIHER share a vision for every child to access locally-rooted Comprehensive Cleft Care.

To learn more about Transforming Faces visit: transformingfaces.org

Ethiopia: The Context of Cleft Care

Accessible cleft care in Ethiopia is complex. 80% of Ethiopia’s 120 million people live in rural settings. In this video, hear from families who have accessed Comprehensive Cleft Care as a result of our long-term partnership with Yekatit 12 Hospital.

Transforming Cleft in Thailand

Transforming Faces partners with Northern Women's Development Foundation in Thailand to provide access to Comprehensive Cleft Care for marginalized children in the northern region. These families’ stories highlight how access to care has improved their quality of life.