Help a Child Smile, Change a Life

by Project Harar

Summary

A donation to Project Harar provides a child life-transforming cleft lip and palate treatments, such as nutritional support and counselling. Without surgery, cleft lip and palate can have dangerous impacts on child development. Children struggle to eat leading to malnourishment. Social stigma of facial differences results in children being hidden away and ostracised from the community which hinders their education. Supporting a child, supports a mother, positively impacting the whole family.

$2,560
total goal

$2,540
remaining

1
donor

0
monthly donors

1
fundraiser

9
months

Challenge

Children who live in remote areas of Ethiopia already experience food insecurities due to environmental, social and economic factors, these difficulties are heightened for those with cleft lip and palate and can lead children suffering from malnourishment. Secondly, social stigma surrounding the child'd condition hinders their chances of getting an education and becoming an active member. The child is often hid away from the rest of the community out of fear.

Solution

We work with local and regional health facilities to identify those who need cleft treatment. We provide safe transport, food and accommodation, on a journey that can span over two days, to and from a partner hospital, so that a child can receive an operation from an Ethiopian surgeon. If a child is undernourished and not strong enough, we provide nutritional support to help them gain the strength they require in order to come back for surgery.

Long-Term Impact

Helping children on their smile journey, enabling babies to breastfeed and stopping them from experiencing other developmental barriers. Ensuring all children are given the same opportunities, access to education and a chance at being active members of the community with a happy and hopeful future. Helping to reduce stigma surrounding cleft conditions will help those in the future with similar conditions.