100 Smiles in 100th Mission

Eman’s birth brought immense joy to his parents but when they saw his face they felt their hearts drop. His beautiful face had been marred by a cleft lip. The new parents were worried how their family would react.

Eman’s extended family, however, were surprisingly welcoming. His grandmother consoled his parents saying that God does not make any one perfect; He always sends us with some flaws so that we remain humble. Eman’s parents were relieved upon hearing this. The community at large also welcomed the child, and many of them even offered home-remedy tips to his mother to fix his lips. She tried several of them, before she realised that nothing was going to fix her child’s face unless God Himself wished it. Even though everyone welcomed the child, she feared for his acceptance once he grew up and started attending school and prayed daily for a miracle.

Her prayers were answered   when she found out about the free surgery and cleft care offered by Mission Smile. She travelled more than 100kms to bring her child to us. Upon arrival Eman was examined and selected for surgery. Post surgery, his mother was very happy with her baby’s transformation and she thanked God for sending Mission Smile to work this miracle in their life.

11-months-old Bornali belongs to a poor family of marginal businessmen from Assam. The birth of the little one was sadly, not a joyous occasion for the family. When the family discovered that the child was born with a cleft lip and palate, they were shocked and cursed the gods that had given them a malformed child.

Often the neighbours and her family murmured among themselves about little Bornali’s deformity; but no one had outright disowned the child. However, feeding the child was a constant struggle for the  mother. The child cannot eat properly and consequently suffers from malnutrition. Her cleft palate also causes trouble during breathing, making the life of the little one extremely difficult.

Bornali's parents heard about Mission Smile from their neighbour. At first they could not believe that such a surgery was possible; then there was another stroke of luck which seemed to shine down upon them – it was free of cost! They were instantly overjoyed, though a little sceptical about their little Bornali smiling again.

This year Bornali smiled a cleft-free smile for the first time. Her palate still needs to be operated upon and she will be scheduled for surgery as soon as her lip has healed.