In November 2025, Betelehem was born with a cleft condition, something that her parents had never expected. From the very beginning, Betelehem struggled. She faced constant discomfort and illness.

In August, we met one-year-old Fedhesa when he came for treatment at Wollega University Hospital. When he was born, his mother had no idea of what to do. She had no information about what a cleft condition was and didn’t know what the condition may change for her family.

Fedil is an 13-month old child who arrived at Yooyya hospital in July for treatment for his cleft lip. He travelled to the programme with his mother who told us that no one else in their family had a cleft condition. She told us that when Fedil was born she was very stressed and nervous about what the future may hold for him.

In Biftu’s town she was known for her warm smile and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee from her roadside stall. She worked hard to support her family, serving travellers and neighbours who stopped by for a cup of coffee and a chat. Her business was not just income for her family, but the foundation of her family’s survival.

Teslima initially arrived at Selam hospital in February 2026 at just three months old. Her parents were seeking treatment for her cleft lip but unfortunately their daughter was too undernourished to receive surgery at that time.

Six-year-old Dawud comes from Ethiopia’s Somali Region. He was born with a cleft lip and palate which affected his ability to eat, speak, and communicate clearly from infancy.

Temesgen is now 11 years old and walks proudly to school each morning with his younger sister. He laughs with friends, answers questions in class, and dreams about his future like any other child. But Temesgen’s journey to this moment was long, painful and filled with challenges that nearly overwhelmed his family.

When Ayale’s mother gave birth to her son, at a hospital in Oromia region she expected to experience the joy that every mother feels when meeting her newborn child for the first time. However, Ayale, her third child, was born with both a cleft lip and cleft palate.

Yayesaw came to our recent programme in Gamby General Hospital in March. Coming with both of his parents, four-year-old Yayesaw had previously visited our programme in November in order to treat his cleft lip. Having had his cleft lip treated, his parents sought to have his cleft palate corrected this time around.

In March, one-year-old Gizachaw arrived at our programme at Gamby hospital. He arrived with his mother, seeking treatment for his cleft condition. He is the fourth child and is the first in his family to have a cleft condition.

Abdurazak, pictured to the left with her mother, is enrolled in our Early Intervention programme. She has a twin sister, and they were born at their local health centre where the midwife identified Abdurazak’s cleft condition at birth.

In November 2025, when we met Akilima, she was just ten months old. She was born with a cleft lip and for her mother the experience was frightening and overwhelming, ‘I did not know what was wrong with my baby. I felt afraid and ashamed.’

In November 2025, one of our patients from earlier in the year returned for surgery on his cleft lip. Desta arrived at Gamby hospital in July 2025, when he was just eight months old,

Ibrahim was 7 months old when he visited us in July this year. He first arrived through one of our early intervention programmes and returned this July to receive surgery for his cleft condition

Selam arrived at Gamby hospital to receive treatment for her cleft condition with both of her parents who are farmers in Amhara.

Fekadu, a seven-month-old boy with a cleft lip, came to receive treatment at our recent programme at Gamby General Hospital Bahir Dar. Fekadu is an only child and is therefore the first in his family with a cleft condition.

Besufikad is a six month old who recently received cleft lip surgery at one of our programmes at Gamby General Hospital. Besufikad is the first child in his family to have this condition and arrived at the programme with his mother after travelling hundreds of kilometres.