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An
estimated 35,000 babies are born
with clefts each year in India. More than 50% of them do not
receive the
treatment
they need, and are condemned to suffer their whole life. There
are over 10 lakh cases of untreated
clefts in India.
In India, clefts are as much of a social
and economic issue
as they are medical. A vast majority of cleft births occur in
rural India where poverty, illiteracy and misinformation are
rampant and access to medical resources is scarce. Widespread
socio-cultural beliefs add to the problem.
Many believe that a cleft is a curse
or punishment from the
gods. They blame themselves for their misfortune and believe
they are destined to bear the suffering their whole life. Stories
and folklore abound. In some parts of north India, the belief
is that clefts occur when a pregnant woman uses a knife during
a solar eclipse.
Though ‘normal’ in every other sense, because of
the facial deformity and speech impediment, children born with
clefts are condemned to grow up as social
outcasts and objects
of ridicule.
Many afflicted children, especially girls, are killed
at birth or abandoned. Orphanages are full of children with cleft. But
even when they are allowed to live, their families are ashamed
of them, other children taunt them and most schools won’t
accept them. Even if they manage to get some basic education,
they cannot find jobs, get married or join the mainstream of
society.
A study performed by The Smile Train in rural
India made the
following observations about cleft afflicted families:
- 92% of them cannot afford the cost of surgery
- 30% of them are not aware that this condition can be corrected
- Hospitals where these surgeries are performed are not approachable
- 5% are afraid of surgery
- 20% are unhappy due to poorly conducted surgeries
These are the many reasons why The Smile
Train’s journey
to India is so vital. Since 2000, Smile Train has sponsored 110,000 safe, quality surgeries in India – totally free. And the
number keeps growing every day.
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