No fewer than 20 babies born with cleft lips will soon undergo surgeries to correct the anomaly, courtesy of a non-government organisation (NGO), Health, Education, Work and Shelter Foundation (HEWF), reports OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA.
They were born with cleft lips, an anomaly which prevents them from using their mouths. But all hope is not lost for these toddlers whose ages range from three to five months. Their lives are being transformed, courtesy of a non-governmental organisation (NGO),Health, Education, Work and Shelter Foundation (HEWF). They are Tijani Ahmed (five months), Ibezim Wisdom (three months), Osindero Ayoluwa (four months) and Olayinka Waris (four years). They all awaited surgeries at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, under the sponsorship of the foundation.
Sixteen others have also been identified and billed for the free cleft lip and palate surgeries billed for LASUTH . The patients were recruited by the NGO based on the standing directive that the tertiary institution should notify it of any patient who cannot afford the costs of treatment for such conditions.
Samuel Oladele is a 12-year-old pupil of The Resourceful Secondary School in Alakuko, a Lagos suburb. He had lived in trauma, stigma and inferiority complex. This is due to a growth on his lower jaw. Doctors call it abnormal growth. He longed to be and look like other normal school children, but the growth sets him apart. His mother, Mrs Mary Oladele, has taken him to traditional healers and faith-based organisations in search for solution but the growth did not disappear. Now, aid has come to Samuel as a non-governmental organisation, HEWS Foundation, has enrolled him along with 21 other patients for reconstructive maxillofacial surgery, especially lip palate and cleft lip.
Most of these children will never be able to speak or eat properly and some will go through life without being able to smile. The greatest tragedy is that virtually every one of these children can be helped with surgery that takes as little as 45 minutes but for the fact that majority of them are too poor and cannot afford to pay for the surgery.
Mrs Oladele, a 37-year-old petty trader, who lives at 13, Gbeleyi Street, Alakuko Bus stop, is all smiles. According to her, the condition of her son had been a thing of concern to her since his birth. “Doctors called the condition one big sounding name and since birth we had been seeking for solution to the growth, but not until we came across this NGO through LASUTH that we are able to get answer that it can be removed and this NGO can pay for it. I am so happy my child will survive this surgery,” she said.
She is not the only happy mother. Mrs Grace Inayacha, a hairdresser, is grateful that her three-month-old baby, Wisdom, is billed for the surgery. According to her, when her baby was delivered on the 16 of March this year, “The baby was not given to me out rightly but to my husband. I called him and asked him why. He later find a way of describing the facial outlook to me and said the hospital don’t know how I will react to the baby if I see her face. He was told that surgery can correct the abnormality. I was short of words. I asked if scan did not pick it, and I was told no.
“Doctor told me it was a medical reaction, that I must have taken a strong drink or eaten something. Since then, we had been trying to get the surgery done. Though we are comfortable but the cost would have created a dent in our finances. So it is a big relief that now help has come and an NGO is picking the bill. Am happy my baby will not have to grow up with such abnormality but with a perfect face. It is a big relief to me.”
According to the Consultant and Head of Burns and Plastic Unit, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof Idowu Fadeyibi, the health mission is poised to leave a lasting smile on the faces of its beneficiaries.
The NGO’s effort is supported by other Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons from within the institution, along with other Healthcare professionals from various units across the state.
“The problem with cleft lip and palate is not only about the visual appearance but has psychological component to it. Some that have grown with the condition are traumatised and are not really integrated in to the society.
“After the surgery, we want to reintegrate them back into the society because they had undergone different pschological trauma. That is basically counsellin and it is part of the post operative care,” he said.
On the cost of the surgery, HEWS Foundation Founder/President, Remi Adeseun, said: “We do not treat lives by percentage but holistically. The hospital has conceded certain things in the costs of the surgeries. One cannot put amount to the cost per patient because it is a comprehensive surgery that involves other examinations.
“Because the hospital has conceded some things like waving off of some screenings, the money meant for that will further be push back to the pull of our resources and used for other focus of the NGO that are health related.”
HEWS Foundation mission is to help pull people out of poverty, ignorance, disease and homelessness by providing grants/scholarships, and micro-credit to indigent Nigerians.
Adeseun wants more people to assist him either in cash or in kind to continue to put smiles on the faces of the needy. According to him, “Some estimates suggest there are hundreds of thousands of children in Nigeria, who are struggling through life with a cleft lip and palate. Most of these children will never be able to speak or eat properly and some will go through their entire lives without being able to smile. The greatest tragedy is that virtually every one of these children can be helped with surgery that takes as little as 45 minutes but for the fact that majority of them are too poor and cannot afford to pay for the surgery.
“HEWS Foundation is very much aware that even with the best intentions, no one or organisation will ever be able to adequately provide for all those in need in our society.”
