In 2015, 11 year-old Fami arrived in Addis Ababa hoping for treatment for her ameloblastoma (a type of facial tumour). Sadly, the surgeons could not find a way to operate that year, and she was sent home. She received treatment in 2016 and then again in 2018 by our international team of specialists.

Three years ago, a small growth appeared on Gemechu’s cheek that continued to enlarge. Eventually, it got so large that if left untreated, it would threaten his life. The growth was a giant ameloblastoma, which caused Gemechu great pain both physically and emotionally. Not only did his face constantly ache, but he also experienced discrimination from those around him.

Seso was treated for Trismus, a condition that caused her mouth to remain tightly closed - she has had this since she was three years old.

When little Merwa was born, her mother Rocla was shocked and frightened. She had never seen a child with a cleft lip before. ‘I was really scared when I gave birth to Merwa and saw her for the first time,’ she said. ‘Nothing can prepare you for that feeling.’

At the age of 15 many girls are conscious of their appearance, but for Mechot the way she looked affected every aspect of her life. Over three years a giant cell tumour had rapidly grown in the roof of her mouth, making eating, speaking or even smiling extremely difficult.

When Felhano’s mother, Kose, gave birth to her daughter Felhano, she was astonished to discover that Felhano had cleft lip and palate. ‘I was appalled when I first saw Felhano,’ she said. ‘I had no idea what to do, how on earth to deal with this disability.’

12-year-old Ayantu came to Project Harar from a life of hardship and stigma. Born with a third nostril in the middle of her nose, the bullying she faced from other children stopped her going to school.

Elili came to us with a giant ameloblastoma and was treated in 2016 by in our annual complex mission.

When Abel's mother fell pregnant, she had to drop out of school, but she hoped that after his birth she would be able to return to pursue her dream of getting an education. However, when Abel was born with a cleft lip and palate, she realised that he would require additional care that would prevent her from returning to school. After hearing from a local doctor about Project Harar, Abel received the life-changing surgery he needed and his mother can now achieve her dream of going back to school.

Amlaku came to our recent Bahir Dar programme with his mother and father, where he received surgery for his cleft palate. Amlaku previously received treatment with Project Harar to correct his cleft lip, now eight years old, his parents were called and asked to return for a follow up appointment to get the second surgery for his palate.

Amen came to Arba Minch General hospital to receive surgery for his cleft lip, he is four months and two weeks old and came with his mother and father. The family found out about Project Harar’s programme from Facebook, his mother told us that her “husband uses the app and he saw one of the posts on Facebook and we followed up on the date of the mission. After that we travelled here so Amen can get his surgery.”

In June 2022, Project Harar conducted a surgical treatment program in Debre-Tabor, with one of our partnering hospitals Debre-Tabor Hospital. We had the chance to interview Selam and her mother Thehay about their journey from when Selam was born with cleft lip and palate, to now receiving treatment at 4 years old.

Brother and sister, Tigist and Adane, were born with cleft lip and palate. We met the family in March 2022, when Ten year old Tigist was having her surgery for her cleft palate and her three year old brother Adane was having his first surgery for his cleft lip in the Amhara region.

Kumaaol was 11 years old when he received his last cleft lip and palate surgery through services accessed with Project Harar.

We first met Ayana when she and her mother Fatuma came to one of our partnering hospitals, Kadisco Hospital, to get both her cleft lip and palate treated at the start of May 2022.

During our recent programme at the Kadisco hospital in Addis Ababa, 6 month old Kassahun and his family accessed surgical treatment for his cleft lip and palate through Project Harar's services. After an 11 hour journey to the Kadisco hospital, they recount their story to our team.

We first met Gudina and his family on February of 2021, where he was finally able to access surgery for his cleft palate. Gudina was three years old. Following his surgery, delayed as a response to the impact of Covid-19, we interviewed him and his father over the phone to catch up with Gudina.

The story of one of the many displaced families living in a refugee camp in Ethiopia. In March 2022 Nyalam was finally able to reach treatment for both her son and daughter, who were born with cleft conditions.

Wendemeh and his brother Gatkuoth travel to the Debre Markos specialised hospital in Amhara to receive treatment for the first time at 15 years old. He and Gatkuoth recount their experiences pre-surgery, and how important it is to destigmatise cleft lip and palate and continue to spread awareness and educate people and schools.