Talim, a 2 year-5 months old boy born with cleft lip and palate, has a story to tell like no others! He belongs to an extremely poverty-stricken family from Nadia district. Both his parents are disabled since birth. While his mother is deaf and dumb, his father is lame. Thus, the family has no fixed income and is forced to beg on the streets. Naturally, they didn’t have any permanent home either. Pathetic as it may sound, little Talim lived on the streets with his parents since birth.
Whatever little the unfortunate parents earned through begging, they would spend all to buy food for the baby while they went hungry. Such was their everyday struggle to keep the baby alive. However, due to his cleft deformity, Talim could not be breastfed, and as a result, gradually, he became malnourished. The parents believed that their son’s cleft deformity was a punishment from God inflicted upon them due to some grave sins committed in their past lives. But luckily, their doubts were short-lived.
They learned from a neighbour about Mission Smile’s free cleft surgery and immediately brought Talim to our Kolkata Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre (KC4). After undergoing the nutrition program, Talim received his cleft lip surgery at KC4. His parents were amazed beyond belief upon seeing the transformation of their child.
Talim underwent operation yet again after a year of receiving his first surgery at KC4 on 25th June 2019. This time he underwent cleft palate surgery. After this surgery, life has taken a new turn for the family. The nutrition program also helped in recovering Talim’s health during the course of one year following his first surgery. The family that once braced themselves to face an uncertain future has finally found a new ray of hope in their lives which they had never dreamt of. Talim’s story reinstates the saying that even amid the darkest hours of our lives, we should never lose hope, and luck shall shine upon us.
With every smile delivered, we’re inching closer to making our nation cleft-free. Join us in fulfilling our target and help children and adults get rid of cleft forever! Could you donate to us?