For the last six years, I have traveled with a medical team from the United States to Kenya, to repair cleft lips and palates of children. Many of these children travel for days to see the medical team. In the United States, most children born with a cleft lip or palate receive medical care at an early age to repair their deformity. In Kenya, we see patients ranging from 3 months of age to 20+ years old, who have been living without care.
Over the course of two weeks, the team will perform close to 75 procedures on children with cleft lips and cleft palates. Although we return to the same mission hospital each year, the patients and their stories are always unique. We’ve set up this blog to share these experiences with our colleagues and friends.
Do you guys only go to Kenya in December? I was there Jan-March working as a primary care provider in Maasailand. A 6-9 month old baby (the Maasai are not so good at keeping track of ages) came in with a cleft palate and I referred her to Kajiado. I just tried to follow up and see if she got the surgery and was told those surgeries are only done in December when Smile Train is there. I’m afraid she won’t survive until December as she was barely 5 pounds in March. Can anyone direct me to help for this child? Any help is appreciated! Thank you!
Our group operates through AIC-CURE Children’s Hospital of Kenya at Kijabe. There are usually three teams that go each year: spring, summer, and fall. http://cure.org/hospitals/kenya/