BENGALURU: In India, 35,000 children are born with cleft lip every year. With an aim to support the patients and their families, Ashraya Hastha Trust, a city-based charitable trust headed by Infosys co-founder K Dinesh and his daughter, Divya Dinesh, has come forward to aid Smile Train, an international non-profit organisation providing corrective surgery for children born with cleft lip and palate.
At an event held at Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital in Vasanth Nagar, Divya, 24, who was born with cleft lip, spoke about her hardships and urged parents of patients and other people to support the children. “When I was four months old, I underwent the first surgery for cleft lip. Till the age of 12 years, I didn’t even know about this. But when I came to know about this, it started affecting me mentally. A stigma entered my mind that I was born with a defect. My self-esteem level went down,” she recalled. When she was 19 years old, she underwent a corrective surgery, but the scar kept hurting her emotionally. “It was only three years back that I realised that this scar is a minor one, and that it shouldn’t affect my confidence. Today, I’m married, leading a normal life. I think the corrective surgery should be done within four months after a baby is born,” Divya added.
Ashraya Hastha Trust will support free cleft surgery for 850 underprivileged children at Smile Train’s local partner hospitals in Bengaluru, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. “According to India Philanthropy report 2019, released by Bain & Company, our country has the fastest-growing population of the ultra-rich. Today, a corrective surgery for cleft lip costs around `18,000. If this is done at an early age, children can enjoy a normal life as soon as possible. However, many still ignore this surgery due to lack of awareness,” Dinesh said.
One in 800 children is born with cleft lip and palate, and lives in isolation in the society, Dr Krishnamurthy, project director, Smile Train India, Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital, said. “Cleft-affected children face difficulty in eating, speaking, and breathing. This may impose a large burden on their health, quality of life, and socioeconomic well-being,” he added, mentioning about a father who left his wife and infant just because the latter was born with a cleft lip. “These taboos should be avoided,” Krishnamurthy said.
Smile Train is working towards treating cleft-affected children in India for last 20 years. They support surgical intervention and also ensure early diagnosis and complete rehabilitation to drive better health outcomes. Asha Dinesh, trustee of Ashraya Hastha Trust, and Mamta Carrol, vice president and regional director-Asia, Smile Train, were also present on the occasion.