Smile puts joy on the faces of babies
Foundation helps raise funds for cleft palate operations
It was not until Silindile Makhubu was admitted for jaundice that Precious Makhubu found out her twoweek-old baby was born with a cleft palate.
Today, Silindile, 2, will undergo her second operation.
Her operations were sponsored by the Smile Foundation at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
The foundation is helping 13 children between six months to five years this week who will receive cleft lip and palate repairs and three children will undergo reconstructive ear surgery.
Precious said: “The doctors said her palate was very deep, so she has to do two operations.”
Precious said she realised there was a problem when her baby’s weight dropped from 2.3kg to 1.44kg a few days after birth.
“When she ate, food would come out of her mouth, so I had to get a specialised baby bottle,” sh e said.
‘ ‘ When my wife sent me her picture, I asked if the baby fell
Since the first operation, Silindile can speak better, sit and walk.
In the hospital room next door was restless six-monthold Nkanyezi Khoza, who had just been operated on.
Her father Joseph Khoza said: “She was born with a cleft lip. When my wife first sent me her picture I asked her if the baby had fallen.”
Her mother Lindiwe said she was concerned if the child would cope at school.
Maureen Hlongwane, the mother of Quinton, said she was looking forward to no longer explaining her son’s condition to people.
“People often asked if he had fallen or if I had hurt him.”
Smile Foundation CEO Hedley Lewis urged community members to use their services to assist children to lead normal lives.