photo courtesy Prof. Olive Mugenda X account
Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital (KUTRRH) has embarked on a free cleft lip and cleft palate corrective surgery clinic. The medical camp was held on June 17th,2024 courtesy of the Love Without Reason Organization.
KUTRRH Board Chairperson, Prof. Olive Mugenda, expressed gratitude to the Love Without Reason team together with other partners onboard for their participation in the initiative. She further emphasized the impact the camp will have on the individual it will impact.
“Love Without Reason Organization in partnership with KUTRRH Doctors and other professionals will perform 70 corrective surgeries on children and adults born with facial challenges. This will enhance the patient’s self-esteem and quality of life. their efforts in initiating the partnership.”
Approximately one in every 500 Kenyan babies is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate. This is a birth defect where a baby’s lip or mouth does not form properly during pregnancy. A child may have a cleft lip with or without a cleft palate or a cleft palate alone.
At the clinic parents and guardians were urged to seek medical consultation when children are still young to get expert advice on the children’s condition. This would help demystify the stigmatization they often endure due to societal misinformation about the condition.
“This defect affects children in many ways and, hence needs to be corrected. Children born with cleft lip or cleft palate conditions are frequently dehumanized due to societal marginalization,” emphasized Santhosh Mathews, the CEO and Co-founder of Love Without Reasons. Love without Reason is a charitable organization that finances cleft lip and palate operations globally.
Kenyans are encouraged to come for screening at KUTRRH grounds as the camp will continue until 21st June 2024.
Love Without Reason is a US-based non-profit organization that is involved in providing surgical care for children born with craniofacial deformities (cleft lip and cleft palate disfigurement )and offering support services for women and children who are being trafficked in the sex trade.
