In every 500-600 newborns, there is one case of cleft lip and palate, most of which occur in remote mountainous areas. Due to the difficulty of eating in children and the lack of parental awareness of scientific feeding experience and nutrition, many children are malnourished to varying degrees.
According to the statistics of The Smile Action in Yunnan in 2021, among children under 5 years of age with cleft lip and palate, the low weight rate was 19%, the growth retardation rate was 21%, and the wasting rate was 26%. This means that the nutritional status of children with cleft lip and palate urgently needs to be improved, and nearly half of the children do not receive timely treatment because they do not meet the requirements of surgery, or affect postoperative recovery.
In order to help more children with cleft lip and palate get safe and timely repair surgery, from October 23 to 26, the first activity of the "Nutrition Project" in China of Operation Smile was launched in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province, with 30 car volunteers from Weilai EPclub and Volunteers of Beiqin Enterprise, working with child care doctor volunteers to form a loving team, with the support of the Honghe Prefecture Committee of the Communist Youth League and the Honghe Youth Development Foundation. Nearly 60 families with malnourished cleft lip and palate and left-behind children were visited in ten counties and cities in the Red River State.
During the visit, the volunteers assessed the nutrition and health status of the patients, taught the methods of scientific feeding to the parents of the children face-to-face, popularized the relevant nutritional knowledge, provided the most practical help from the level of nutritional knowledge and scientific feeding of the children, and distributed nutritional materials and household supplies to each child.
Although it was the first time to participate, because the volunteers prepared for the pre-departure training and claimed their respective positions - child care doctor assistants, missionaries, recorders, etc., orderly cooperation, making the home visit very smooth.
Looking forward to an early reunion and a smile
When volunteers visited a child with cleft lip and palate (pseudonym) in Jianshui County, Honghe, they found that he could not suck breast milk or pacifier because of cleft palate, and weighed only 12 kilograms at the age of five and was severely malnourished. Last month, Binbin's mother learned the news that Operation Smile offered free surgery in Mengzi, and took her child to sign up with great anticipation, but returned disappointed because of her weight. The nutrition project activities carried out this time are undoubtedly a blessing for Binbin.
I hope that the nutritional materials from this home visit can help Binbin grow healthily and reshape her smile in the near future!
Your smile puts me at ease
On the mountain road to a remote village in Lorne Township, Honghe County, a group of guests from afar, volunteer riders from Weilai EPclub, drove six hours from Mengzi City in the rain to visit Xiaofu (pseudonym), a 3-year-old child with cleft lip and palate in the village, with a nutrition bag.
Xiao Fu's mother had long been waiting at the head of the village with Xiao Fu, and when Xiao Fu saw the strange uncle and aunt, although he was a little shy, he ran excitedly. At the end of September this year, Xiaofu received a free cleft lip and palate repair surgery offered by Operation Smile in Mengzi, Yunnan Province. Mom happily told the volunteers: "Xiaofu didn't like to play with children before, but after the operation, he ran outside like a changed person." I hope that Xiaofu will do the cleft palate surgery before going to school, and the stone in his heart will be put down. ”
The total home visit of the entire volunteer team was nearly 5,000 kilometers, and the total service time exceeded 150 hours, indirectly helping 157 people. Volunteers have said that although the mountain road is rugged and difficult, they have encountered various hardships, but they can really help the children, while harvesting a very meaningful experience, all the efforts are worth it, I hope that the love will continue to help more families and children in distress.
(* Abbott Amygne is suitable for malnutrition aged 1-10 years due to inadequate digestion and absorption)