Workers in tea gardens of West Bengal, India, that produces Ctc tea for domestic consumption complain that they have been devoid of basic facilities while political parties make hollow promises during every elections which are never fulfilled.
African beauty queens make children with cleft smile
The stigma around cleft lip and palate in East Africa is insane. Some people truly believe that children affected by this congenital deformity are “things” and not human beings. They are disgraced, isolated and in extreme cases even killed. In fact, people don’t even realise that cleft happens naturally and is not an issue of
The stigma around cleft lip and palate in East Africa is insane. Some people truly believe that children affected by this congenital deformity are “things” and not human beings. They are disgraced, isolated and in extreme cases even killed. In fact, people don’t even realise that cleft happens naturally and is not an issue of their own making. (Idah Nguma)
Miss World Kenya 2014 Idah Nguma is Kenyan ambassador for Smile Train, an international NGO that offers free correctional surgery to children suffering from cleft lip and palate. These are oral and facial malformations that develop early in pregnancy. As a result, the lip or the roof of the mouth is physically split.
Nguma travelled to Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda in August encouraging other East African beauty queens to use their fame and influence to raise awareness on the issue, particularly in remote areas.
While visiting Rwamagana Hospital in Rwanda, Nguma and Miss Rwanda Doriane Kundwa met cleft patients wishing to share their stories. One thing became obvious, the stigma around cleft in the region is still very real, although unfounded. Nguma explains:
What touched me most was the story of this one child who had been abandoned at birth. The minute the baby was born with cleft lip and palate, the husband left his wife assuming that she was a witch who had given birth to some creature that was not human.
Even her close neighbours did everything to avoid her. Nevertheless, she stayed strong for the baby. Following the first surgery to treat the boy’s cleft lip, the father returned to his wife and recognised his child. The child continues to receive correctional surgery.
In fact, cleft can easily be repaired through a safe and simple surgery that corrects the abnormal development to restore a normal appearance, which can help build self-esteem and enable the regular functioning of the lip and palate. Thanks to Smile Train patients can be treated for free. Results are immediate and it takes less than two weeks to heal.
“I am hoping that we will get rid of cleft in Africa in a few years time. The only cases we will have will be of new born babies and we will be able to immediately treat them,” dreams Nguma.
By mobilising people, raising awareness and taking part in outreach programmes the beauty queen is showing that anything is possible. Nguma is one of the many inspiring figures coming out of Africa: share these stories through #TheAfricaTheMediaNeverShowsYou, the hashtag that gives the continent a brighter image.
Siamo anche su WhatsApp. Segui il canale ufficiale LifeGate per restare aggiornata, aggiornato sulle ultime notizie e sulle nostre attività.
Quest'opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.
India is in the middle of the elections, but sadly none of the politicians have uttered a word on man-animal conflict that has been devouring several lives every year.
Manipur, a state in north-east India, is still reeling under the tremors of violence that broke out last year devouring lives and paralyzing the economy.
The government of Tanzania is currently planning to evict more than 80.000 indigenous Maasai people from their ancenstral land
A new UNU-INWEH report on the global bottled water industry reveals the massive scale of this market and the lack of strict quality controls.
Isatou Ceesay founded a social enterprise that is helping to fight plastic pollution and empowering women and young people to gain economic independence.
In 2020, Mihela Hladin made a radical decision that many, in recent times, have probably considered. This is her story, with photos by Matt Audiffret.
The Brazilian government has started evicting illegal gold miners, responsible for the health emergency that has hit the Yanomami people.
Asur culture and tradition in West Bengal are on the brink of extinction due to age-old religious stigma and the apathy of the state government.