A Small Hole, A Huge Risk

This is not a child from New Day, but this gives you an idea about what a cleft lip is.

"Will you take him?  He will die if he stays here because we don't have time to feed him?"  This call came in to New Day Foster Home concerning a little boy with a small hole in his lip and palate.

When this story was shared with me by one of the New Day staff, I was shocked.  Holes in hearts are big deals.  Holes in spines are life threatening.  But I hadn't realized the seriousness of an orphan with a hole in their lip and/or palate.  On our last trip to New Day, I met a few children that were born with a cleft lip and palate and had learned how to feed them.  But what I didn't know was that these children are at risk of starvation because there are not enough hands to feed them in some orphanages.  This is not putting down the nannies that care for these kids in any way, they are stretched so thin.  But my eyes were opened to the risk these sweet kiddos face.

His name is Wayne, and his smile was beautifully marked by a fresh scar when I first held him earlier this month.  Wayne was the baby that the phone call was about.  The hole in Wayne's lip and palate prevented him from sucking from a conventional bottle. His feeding required a different technique that took individual attention from one of the care-givers.  In the first orphanage there simply were not enough hands to hold each baby and feed them one-on-one.  Thankfully, New Day became a temporary home to Wayne and once he arrived he was able to have surgery to correct his cleft lip.  As soon as his lip is healed he will receive surgery to repair his cleft palate.  His smile is contagious and I'm thankful that New Day answered that call with a "Yes."  Read more about Wayne here.

There are many other precious children waiting for corrective surgery.  If you would like to help other children like Wayne please consider making a donation to our New Day Surgery Fund.