Safiatuddin had his first operation in September 2007. When we met him in his village south of Banda Aceh, Safiatuddin was so severely malnourished that he was dangerously close to death. He weighed 3.5 kg when he was born but when we found him 3 months later he weighed only 2 kg. We managed to rush him to hospital where we discovered he was being fed only sugar water as his parents could not afford to buy milk. With our help, after 6 months he was strong enough to receive surgery for his lip. Later, in 2012, he returned for his final palate operation. Safiatuddin now leads a very happy life and his speech has also developed as it would have had he been born without cleft.
