Other Conditions

Adem, 19, who had treatment for neurofibramatosis

Project Harar is reaching people with an increasing range of facial disabilities as our work becomes better known throughout eastern Ethiopia and beyond. Although we are a children’s charity we will help anyone we can, no matter what the cause of their illness or injury.

One common case is tumours and prominent lesions affecting the face and neck. There are many forms, and most of them are benign and easy to treat, if found early enough.

We help patients with dental growths like ameloblastoma and our field staff are seeing more cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis, a potentially fatal parasitic disease.

There is a legacy of untreated facial disabilities in Ethiopia – indeed Project Harar helped a farmer with a gunshot wound to the mouth sustained during the Ethiopian civil war, which ended in 1994. Our dedicated outreach team travel across eastern Ethiopia, an area half the size of France, coordinating with local health workers to reach patients and raise awareness of the treatment available. We arrange free transport to the hospital, accommodation for a parent, and follow-up care if required.

It costs just £250 to reach a rural patient with a complex facial disability and organise the surgery and follow-up care he or she will need to speak, eat and smile like everyone else. If you can help, please click here.