For young Iowane from Fiji, the social effect of being born with a cleft lip was huge. The four-year-old always stayed close to his mother’s skirt when they were away from home as she tried to protect him from the teasing and taunts of others.
Without treatment, the condition would have continued to impact on his relationships in his community, along with complications for eating and growing healthily.
Iowane is a tall boy for his age and painfully shy. His mother Saumia said she felt ashamed of his deformity, a common response from parents in the countries in which we work.
Saumia said surgery for Iowane was her dream and that she had promised she would find someone to fix his lip because “she didn’t want other children to look at him in that way”.
Iowane's surgery was such a success that he was able to purse his lips to blow bubbles the next day in recovery.
Interplast volunteer surgical team visiting Lautoka in Fiji last year were able to operate on Iowane’s lip with outstanding results. He recovered quickly, even able to purse his lips to blow bubbles the next day.
9930 Interplast District Chair Elizabeth Wright had met Iowane and his Mother on Clinic Day watched the operation and was able to give support to them both afterward on the ward.
Saumia breathed a huge sigh of relief when told that the surgery had been a success.
With tears in her eyes, she thanked Elizabeth for the Interplast teams help and all the Rotarians who donated toward the programme. Iowane now has a better future ahead of him.
Try givealittleinterplast.co.nz or email your Interplast District Chair Elizabeth - eliz.j.wright@gmail.com for tax-deductible donations