When Christine* (not her name) welcomed her bundle of joy in 2015, the baby was not like other children.
He was born with a cleft lip and palate. At first she panicked but decided to face the challenge with courage.
Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that occur when a baby’s lip or mouth do not form properly during pregnancy.
Despite the stigma and discrimination that her child faced from his friends at school, Christine has done almost everything possible to put a smile on her baby's face.
“There is discrimination in the society because my child is not like the others. Other children ask your child why he is not like them and when that happens, he comes home to ask why he is not like others,” she said.
Christine's child is among 16 others set to benefit from free corrective surgeries at the Nairobi Hospital in collaboration with Help a Child Face Tomorrow NGO.
This will be her baby's fourth surgery. The other three surgeries have so far helped the child to feed without much difficulty.
“... the palate is a bit difficult as the child grows but we have gotten real help,” Christine said.
The surgeries are being conducted by a team of experts led by Dr Meshack Ong’uti, a renowned Consultant Maxilla-facial Surgeon.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Orofacial clefts, especially cleft lip with or without cleft palate, can be diagnosed during pregnancy by a routine ultrasound.
They can also be diagnosed after the baby is born. However, certain types of cleft palate might not be diagnosed until later in life.
It is estimated that globally, one in 700 children is born with a cleft lip or palate. In Kenya, experts estimate that one in every 500 babies is born with the condition.
This affects their physical, mental and psychological growth.
“These children are not able to eat, talk, breathe or even sleep well. As a result they are always behind in many of their milestones,” Dr Ong’uti said.
“I am happy because we are doing something that will help someone else not ourselves. The motivation is helping someone who has nothing to offer you."
A recent report by Smile Train said children with clefts are almost twice as likely to be malnourished compared to their peers without clefts unless aggressive interventions are done.
The Nairobi Hospital on Saturday unveiled a state-of-the-art ambulatory theatre when launching its Corporate Social Responsibility programme that focused on children with cleft lip and palate.
CEO James Nyamongo said the aim of the programme is to put smiles on the faces of needy children with the medical conditions.
The programme also aims to reverse the trend that has seen more than 10,000 Kenyans seek medical attention out of the country every year.
“We are playing our role in supporting the government to ensure that all Kenyans including the children have access to quality and affordable healthcare,”he said.
Save a Life CEO Joseph Murimi said they also want to ensure that pregnant women attend their full Anti-natal clinics.
He said the awareness also seeks to demystify the myths and misconceptions surrounding cleft lips and palates.
“We are telling them it is not witchcraft, it is just a condition and they can get help. We know that some people hide their children because of this condition,” Murimi said.
Nairobi Hospital Board chairperson Chris Bichage said the free surgeries conducted on the children will not only improve their physical appearance but also enhance their socio cultural interactions.
The hospital has in the last one year invested in projects worth over Sh1.6 billion in its bid to deliver quality service to patients.
Deputy National Security advisor Joseph Boinett said the government is committed to provide affordable and quality healthcare to all Kenyans.
“The Ministry of Health has made a commitment to lower the cost of healthcare by encouraging local manufacturing and pool procurement of supplies therefore levering economies of scale,” he said.
Boinnet said the government will work with the private sector to realise the commitment.
Clefts make eating and feeding and especially breastfeeding challenging.