Success Stories - The Children Of Sumatra

Ani

In 2001, we met an 11 year-old girl named Ani living on the island of Pulau Weh. She was suffering with cleft lip and we decided to find a way to help her. Soon after, Ani received surgery and The Children of Sumatra charity was born. When Ani turned twenty she started working for our charity where she picked up new skills. Her confidence grew as a result of her participation in the charity and now she is happily married and pregnant with her first child.

The basic principle which inspired us to help Ani and to subsequently start The Children of Sumatra is that no child should suffer with cleft whilst an easy and inexpensive solution exists. Despite the costs being inexpensive in the West, it is impossible for many Indonesian families to raise the necessary funds, meaning that many children grow up without the chance to have the surgery they so desperately deserve and need. We endeavor to help children as young as possible so that they can have every opportunity to lead happy lives, just like Ani.

Safiatuddin

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.

Junadi

We first met Junadi when he was 5 years old. He was very sick and not strong enough to undergo surgery. He lived with us for more than a month while we restored him to good health. Junadi’s family are extremely poor and at this time Junadi’s father insisted on taking him home, withdrawing him from his chance of having cleft surgery, despite our ability to fund such surgery for him. We tried and tried to get Junadi back for surgery but his family always found a reason not to allow him to go, perhaps out of fear. We went to their village many times, revisiting every year to offer our help but with no success. When Junadi was 12 years-old, 7 years after we first met him, we went back to his village once more. This time we were able to leave with both Junadi and his father, taking them to the centre where we work. There was nothing to stop him this time: Junadi was old enough to make up his own mind and this lovely young boy was now desperate for surgery. As you can see from the photos he had an amazing operation. His lip and palate were able to be closed in a single operation. We were so overjoyed, after so many years to see him so happily accept our help.

Helida

Helida was 10 years old when we found her. We were so lucky to find her as she lives in one of the most remote villages we have yet encountered in Sumatra. Her parents are both farmers. They cannot read or write and they had no idea how to go about finding a way to access an operation for their child. We had helped a child living an hour’s drive away from Helida’s village the previous year, so after revisiting them we were given some very vague directions to help find her. It took us a very long time to track her down and we were over the moon when we finally found her. Helida was very shy because of her disfigurement; the other children teased her so she did not want to attend school, preferring to work in the fields with her family. Since her surgery and rehabilitation, Helida is much more confident and feels able to enjoy school.

Alex

Alex’s remarkable progress would not have been possible without the assistance of regular donations. He had lip and palate surgery in 2009 at the age of 13. Shortly after his operation Alex’s father died of cancer, leaving behind Alex and his four younger brothers and sisters. As he is the eldest, Alex has had to work to support his family but with the generosity of his regular donors, Alex and his family have the support to allow him to continue with his studies. In 2016, Alex will become a qualified electrician and will soon have gained full-time employment.

Rodearni

Rodearni’s operation for her cleft deformity was in 2015 however she is experiencing more difficulties than just suffering from cleft lip and palate. We have discovered that she is also suffering from a syndrome called kabuki. This can affect her hearing and she will also need to have lots of physiotherapy as she has very weak limbs. The Children of Sumatra do everything they can to make sure every child we help can receive all the care they need. With the help of Harapan Jaya we have arranged the best treatment for Rodeari’s wellbeing and she now undergoes physiotherapy 3 times a week at the centre. Already we have seen an amazing improvement and everyday Rodeari gets stronger. Sometimes it is not just a simple cleft operation that is needed to help the children we find and therefore we always do what we can to support the whole child and all their needs.