“1 in 10 children born with a Cleft will DIE before
their first birthday.”
1 in 10. That
isn’t a real pleasant statistic to read.
Did you know there is a
great agency called Operation Smile that can help these children from not only dying
but also from the pain, frustration, embarrassment and dangers of having a
Cleft Condition?
Operation Smile, is a charity
helping change the lives of children one smile at a time. They are an amazing
organization that performs life changing cleft lip surgeries on children who
would never have the opportunity to have such a surgery due to the medical
costs.
Each year more than 200,000 children are born with a severe cleft
condition-some are unable to eat, speak, socialize, or smile – that is
heartbreaking and a HUGE number of children! The conditions of a cleft lip can
be painful and even affect the child’s ability to speak and eat!
Here are some facts about Cleft Conditions:
Q. What is a cleft lip and cleft palate?
A. A cleft is
an opening in the lip, the roof of the mouth or the soft tissue in the back of
the mouth. A cleft lip may be accompanied by an opening in the bones of the
upper jaw and/or the upper gum. A cleft palate occurs when the two sides of a
palate do not join together, resulting in an opening in the roof of the mouth.
A cleft lip and palate can occur on one side or both sides. A child can suffer
from a cleft lip, a cleft palate or both.
Q. What causes cleft lips and cleft palates?
A. The exact
cause is unknown. Cleft lips and cleft palates are congenital defects that
occur early in embryonic development. Scientists believe a combination of
genetic and environmental factors, such as maternal illness, drugs or
malnutrition, may lead to a cleft lip or cleft palate. If one child in a family
is born with a cleft, the risk increases by 2 to 4 percent that future children
in the family will suffer from the same defect.
Q. Can cleft lips and cleft palates be prevented?
A, Scientists
are researching methods to prevent cleft lips and cleft palates. One finding,
according to research studies, is that mothers who take multivitamins
containing folic acid before conception and during the first two months of
pregnancy may reduce their risk of giving birth to a baby with a cleft.
***For a little as $240, you can help provide a cleft lip or
cleft palate surgery. This surgery can change a child’s life forever and can
take as few as 45 minutes.
Donations are what keep these
surgeries happening – make sure you and your family seriously consider donating
to this organization. Some of those donations come from CampusBookRentals.com for every time you rent textbooks – so if you or
anyone you know is in need of text books please consider using Campus Book
Rentals!
Campus
Book Rentals has a new program now too –
RentBack. RentBack is new
initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own – to other
friends and students! So great because
it makes you 2-4x more money compared to what you would make through other buyback
options! I remember how frustrating it was when I would go to sell my books back at the bookstore in college. It was depressing! I hope more college students check out this great new program!
Donate
or learn about more ways to get involved please visit:
I absolutely love Operation Smile, I used to work with a surgeon who would go to Africa on these missions!