Stories
Cleft Over Borders in Myanmar: Yoon’s Story
Cleft Over Borders in Myanmar: Yoon’s Story In our impact report, we shared that, thanks to our monthly Bright Start donors, we were able to exceptionally arrange surgery for 11 children in the capital city, Yangon. Among those children, a photo of Yoon* and her...
Speech Therapy Helps Rachel Flourish
The Speech Therapy that Helps Rachel Flourish Eight-year-old Rachel and her family live atop a lush mountain in rural Costa Rica, about 30 minutes from the nearest town – Cartago. She enjoys taking care of her pet hamster, and playing on her swing outside in the fresh...
Vineesh and Cleft: A Supportive Family and Community
Vineesh and Cleft: A Supportive Family and Community Vineesh was born in 2012 to a humble family living in the village of Neriya, India near the coastal region of Karnataka. He has two siblings whom he enjoys playing with. Vineesh enthusiastically attends school each...
Esther Accesses Comprehensive Cleft Care
Esther & Her Family Access Comprehensive Cleft Care in Uganda Dan, a bicycle mechanic, and Hellen, a stay-at-home mother, reside on the shores of the swampy Lake Kyoga, along with their two children - Janet and Innocent. In mid-2021, they expanded their family and...
Bubbly Samantha’s Journey: Costa Rica
Bubbly Samantha's Journey with Cleft and Speech Therapy Samantha is an absolute chatterbox. She is a bubbly and energetic two-year-old, who loves meeting new people. When members of the Transforming Faces’ team visited her family in early April, we noticed this right...
Aynalem Learns Feeding Techniques to Help Her Son Thrive
Aynalem Learns Feeding Techniques to Help Her Son Thrive Uriel was born in Debre Markos, a small city in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. That he is now a thriving, healthy 1-year-old had almost been beyond hope for his mother, Aynalem. She had never heard of cleft lip...
From an Untreatable Diagnosis to an Unlimited Future – Meet Oscar
Oscar is the fourth child in a growing family living in the rural Kanungu district, Uganda. Upon Oscar’s birth, his mother Judith was given the news that every parent dreads: there is something seriously wrong with your baby…
A Bright Start in Uganda
Ivan and Jamirat live modestly in central Uganda’s Rekai district, working as a mechanic and a seamstress. When Jamirat discovered that she was pregnant, the couple was elated. They decided to name their firstborn child Yvonne, and couldn’t wait to welcome her into their arms.
Mobilizing CCC in Uganda: Meet Betty
Betty and her twin brother were born in the remote Napak district of North Eastern Uganda. As members of the Karamojong people, a nomadic cattle-herding community, Betty’s family live half a day’s drive from the nearest cleft centre. With no exposure to cleft, Betty’s...
Ethiopia: Meet Kalid
Five years ago, Kalid was born with a cleft lip and palate in West Haraghe, a region of Ethiopia over ten hours away from the capital of Addis Ababa. His family did not know who to turn to for support and his ability to speak clearly and participate in school was...
