Sisay’s Story
Sisay was one of the children who arrived at Selam General Hospital in November for cleft treatment. Sisay is from the Amhara region and travelled approximately 150 kilometres for her treatment. Sisay is almost three years old and arrived for her cleft lip treatment with her mother. Her family are farmers and there have been no previous cases of cleft in her family. Her mother spoke of her fears of bringing her daughter out in her community and mentioned a feeling of sadness when she saw her daughters’ condition.
Sisay’s mother shared her experience with us: “when I gave birth to Sisay, my family separated themselves from us because of her condition. The condition saddens me because people are so rude about my daughter for no reason other than her condition.”
Sisay’s mother speaks further about the community’s reactions to the condition “There are so many misconceptions about my daughter’s condition and people believe that it is a punishment from God for wrongdoing by my family. When I leave my house to go to market or church, people always stop me to ask about Sisay’s condition. They ask what sins I have committed and why it has appeared on her.”
“Due to these misconceptions, I fear going to public places and church, I hide my daughter at home. Because of a lack of money, I have not sought treatment for Sisay’s condition, and I had not heard about Project Harar until recently. Our local health centre shared the knowledge with me and that is when we made the journey to Selam General Hospital in Dessie.”
Sisay’s mother told us that when she came to Selam General Hospital she saw many children who had arrived with the same condition as her daughter and learnt that we were hosting a coffee ceremony for mothers of children with cleft conditions such as herself. Sisay’s mother shared her experiences at the coffee ceremony and spoke of Project Harar freeing her from the condition her daughter had been born with.
“I thank Project Harar for providing us with this life-changing treatment and I hope now that my daughter will go to school, church and play with her friends without fear of judgement.”
Sisay’s mother discussing her daughter’s cleft conditions with Nigatu, the Programme Coordinator, and other parents