By: Yusli Harini, EBPP Health Team Leader
Welcoming a new life into the world is a joyous occasion, but it can be challenging when the baby is born with cleft lip and palate issues. We've partnering with the Bali Smile Foundation (Yayasan Senyum) since 2006 to help babies and families in Ban and Tianyar Villages facing these challenges. Our mission is to offer free cleft repair surgeries, along with full family support throughout the process, which is vital because babies need to meet certain age and weight requirements before surgery.
On October 11, we collaborated with the Smile Foundation to assess three children's conditions, ensuring they meet the surgery criteria. Two of them had already had cleft lip repair surgeries and were preparing for cleft palate repairs. While they showed promising progress in their recovery, they had not yet reached the required weight for cleft palate surgery. Our dedicated team educated the families on how to prepare the children for this surgery. Fortunately, one child met all the requirements, and we scheduled their surgery consultation in Denpasar on October 13 to finalise the surgery scheduler.
The family eagerly awaited this news, filled with hope that their child will soon have the operation scheduled, allowing them to thrive like other children.