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Bring a smile to a child!
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That is the aim of "The Children of Sumatra" a little known UK Charity working in Indonesia with children born with cleft lip and palate.
Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous Seaford donor at least eight children can expect their lives to be transformed in the coming months. The Gift Aided donation of ?650 has been supplemented by ?500 from the Rotary Club of Seaford's International Budget. A cheque for ?1,150 was presented to Stuart Pullen, from "The Children of Sumatra Fund" following a moving talk and visual presentation of the Charity's work at the Club's luncheon meeting. The average cost of each operation is as little as ?140.
The Children of Sumatra is a UK registered charity helping children with cleft lip and palate in Sumatra, the largest of the number of islands that comprise Indonesia.
In Sumatra, as in many countries in the developing world, there is no free healthcare and much of what we take for granted in richer countries is simply unavailable there. Cleft lip and palate affects 1 in 600 of all children. Operations to correct the condition are reasonably simple and inexpensive, but if left uncorrected the disfigurement can seriously diminish the quality of life for the persons affected.
The facial disfigurement, with its associated problems of eating and speaking, can make the child unwilling to attend school or even mix with other children for fear of teasing. Girls affected will be unable to marry, and both boys and girls will often grow up with little or no education.
One or two operations can change the child's appearance and make normal eating and drinking possible. If the operation is carried out before the child learns to speak then speech can be learnt normally. But those who have the operation later need to relearn speech, then speech therapy will be necessary to get the best results.
Successful treatment for this condition will not only change their appearance, it will also give them a whole new future.
For more information about the Charity visit their website at www.childrenofsumatra.org
posted: Thursday, 12 March 2009 |
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