Akilima’s Story
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.’
Whilst in her community, Akilima’s mother had heard that children born with cleft conditions could only be treated when they reach two years of age. Believing that she had no other option, she decided to hide her baby from their neighbours and wait in silence. ‘I decided to keep my child hidden until she became two years old and could be corrected.’
This isolation might have continued putting Akilima’s health and development at serious risk were it not for a house-to-house polio vaccination campaign conducted by health workers in her area who had received early identification training from Project Harar. ‘They reassured me that my child’s condition was treatable; they told me to bring her for care the next day’
Akilima was referred and enrolled in Project Harar’s Early Intervention Programme, which supports infants born with cleft conditions through early identification, nutritional support, caregiver counselling, and referral for surgery. Akilima was provided with milk to improve her nutrition and help her gain weight and continue to receive milk until the day of surgery, ensuring she was strong and healthy enough to safely undergo treatment.
The change in Akilima was immediate and deeply emotional for her mother whor no longer hides her daughter and speaks openly about her experience, encouraging other mothers to seek help early rather than waiting in fear and isolation.
“This support helped my child grow stronger. I felt supported and no longer alone. Now I am very happy, when I see my child’s lip corrected, my heart is at peace.”