We find poor untreated cleft children, from city slums and small villages, to remote and out-of-reach areas in East Java. Our Community Healthcare Officers keep in touch with the family from the first phone call. They conduct home visits to assess the condition of the child, home condition and financial situation, the needs of the child and family.
The home care visits are primarily targeted to mothers, who have just given birth to cleft newborns and are in need of immediate information about cleft lip and palate issues, such as:
1. What is the specific problem of their child?
2. Is a cleft a curse?
3. Will their child survive?
4. What are the possible treatments?
5. Where to get treatments that they can afford?
6. How to take care of their cleft child? E.g. how to feed and nurse
7. What is the future for their child?
It is estimated that 85-90%* of new cleft infants are born in/at the lowest social economic/educational level. The core need for this group is to ensure that the child survives, has the cleft surgery needed and continues with life. CCFI provides parents with the basic information they need on what cleft is all about.
The geographic coverage of our services includes East Java and Madura. The longest travelling time could take up to about 8 hours from Surabaya city.
Rahayu’s Story
“We first heard about this patient from another cleft patient. When we met Rahayu for the first time, she was 8 months old, with a unilateral cleft lip and palate but otherwise healthy. Her parents were very keen to get our assistance; they had already tried to get help from another foundation before they knew about CCFI but there had been no real action. The father said that it was different with CCFI, we followed up immediately after they contacted us.
When we made the first home visit, we gave them information about preparing Rahayu for surgery, information on how to take care of her after surgery and also gave them the supplies they needed. While receiving our support, Rahayu did not have any serious illness so, just two & a half months later, her lip palate were repaired by one of our partners and the result is good. The parents are very happy with our help and the father has already referred 2 more cleft children to CCFI. He says he will continue to do this, whenever he sees a cleft child.”