Amen came to Arba Minch General hospital to receive surgery for his cleft lip, he is four months and two weeks old and came with his mother and father. The family found out about Project Harar’s programme from Facebook, his mother told us that her “husband uses the app and he saw one of the posts on Facebook and we followed up on the date of the mission. After that we travelled here so Amen can get his surgery.”
We first met Gudina and his family on February of 2021, where he was finally able to access surgery for his cleft palate. Gudina was three years old. Following his surgery, delayed as a response to the impact of Covid-19, we interviewed him and his father over the phone to catch up with Gudina.
When Abel's mother fell pregnant, she had to drop out of school, but she hoped that after his birth she would be able to return to pursue her dream of getting an education. However, when Abel was born with a cleft lip and palate, she realised that he would require additional care that would prevent her from returning to school.
After hearing from a local doctor about Project Harar, Abel received the life-changing surgery he needed and his mother can now achieve her dream of going back to school
People with facial differences across the world may face stigma.
Where we work — in rural and remote areas of Ethiopia, stigma is prevalent amongst the people we meet who are living with facial difference and accessing our services. Read more here.