Abdurazak’s Story

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 March 2026, Abdurazak and her mother arrived again at their local health centre to receive fortified milk powder so that Abdurazak could continue growing before receiving cleft surgery.

When Abdurazak was born in February, she weighed just 1.8 kilograms (or just under 4 pounds) and it was unlikely that she would survive had the midwife not been trained to identify cleft conditions. As such, when Abdurazak was born, the midwife at the health centre provided her mother with guidance on feeding her, fortified milk powder, and a specialist cleft feeding bottle.

In March, when Abdurazak and her mother returned for a check-up, Abdurazak’s condition had improved greatly. During the check-up she was weighed, and she had nearly doubled in weight, now at 3 kilograms.

We hope that Abdurazak will continue to grow, and at six months old she should be strong enough to receive surgery for her cleft condition, freeing her from a life of stigma.