Fedil’s Story
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. However, when she registered her child’s birth and name at her local health centre, they advised her that Fedil’s condition was treatable.
Fedil and his mother before he received cleft surgery, July, 2026.
Before Fedil had surgery, his mother used to cover his face when she took him out so that people would not stare at him or make unkind comments about his appearance. She told us “We come from a very humble background, we couldn’t afford to spare any money for his surgery, and there was no one around us that could support us financially. Alongside these financial challenges, we also faced the weight of stigma and misinformation in our community. In our village, any condition like this is put down to wrong doing, it is like a punishment from God. So, when you have a child like that, everyone around you starts talking about it and over time, the pressure of those misconceptions weighed heavily on us.”
Fedil’s local health extension worker put the family in contact with Project Harar. And after learning about the available treatment, Fedil’s mother made the 300km journey from their hometown to Yooyya Hospital in Adama which is all covered by Project Harar. There, Fedil and his mother met other children with cleft. Though the seven hour bus journey away from the rest of their family was difficult, Fedil’s mother told us that she was grateful for the opportunity to improve her son’s life with this surgery.
Before the procedure she told us that her hope is that Fedil will live a health life after the surgery and that his lips will be healed. After, she told us; “I hope that our family can be more at peace. I am very happy to see him out of surgery.“
Fedil after receiving surgery for his cleft condition, Yooyya Hospital, Adama.
“Thanks to the Project Harar Organization who treated Fedil’s cleft condition, I will no longer worry about people’s comments. I am happy, very happy about the treatment he received by Project Harar. I hope he can play with his friends.”