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hey im working with smile train to raise money for children in need of cleft care! if you have anything to spare its highly appreciated!
https://www.mysmiletrain.org/campaign/Veronica-for-Smiles24
Smile Train is a global charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable issue: cleft.
It's Cleft Awareness week in New Zealand, and I thought I would put up a quick post here on Tumblr just in case any of my followers were interested.
I've been involved with Cleft NZ (a registered charity) for over two years now, and it has been really exciting to see all the work behind the scenes going into revitalising awareness week and starting to work towards greater public awareness of Clefts.
In New Zealand, clefts are the second most common birth abnormality. We are a small country (a little over 5 million people), and it is likely everyone know someone who has a cleft and doesn't even realise it as a little more than 1/700 babies born each year are cleft affected. The stigma of years ago ("hare lip", "cursed", "funny talking") still hangs around even if it isn't encouraged in the way it used to be. This is something we hope a little education can go a long way to improving! I often say, knowledge of an issue brings understanding.
I have two children born with cleft lip and palate. While I am not all knowing, I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about clefts from my parent perspective. I'm not a medical professional, but can point you towards information as it has been provided to me by those qualified to do so.
Cleft Facts
Cleft lip and palate are the most common birth defects in the USA... about 1 of every 600 babies are born affected by cleft lip and/or palate.
A cleft lip is a separation of the two sides of the upper lip, and usually includes the bones of the upper jaw and sometimes gums. A cleft palate is an opening in the roof of the mouth, where it did not fuse together.
A unilateral cleft lip is on one side of the mouth, and bilateral is on both sides of the mouth.
A child can have either a cleft lip, a cleft palate, or both.
There is no known cause of cleft lips and palates, but there are theories, such as genetic or environmental factors or medications the mother takes. A child born with a cleft lip and/or palate (or a craniofacial condition) require specialized healthcare from infancy to their teenage years. Source: https://cleftline.org/family-resources/introduction-to-cleft-craniofacial-conditions/
Why the fuck...
...are more people talking about international Humus day than Cleft Awareness Week? Priorities, people. My best friend in all the world has had more than 14 surgeries since she was a baby and has been stared at, commented on, operated on, laughed at and made to feel like shit more times than I dare to count. She is the most beautiful person I have ever known and she is so keen to raise awareness of what it actually is to have cleft lip and palate, so that maybe people won't feel awkward talking about it/reblogging it/learning about it - she isn't even doing it for herself, because she is the most selfless person I know too. So please, if you see anything on your dash (or on Facefuck) about cleft awareness week, please do share and reblog it and show support to those people who suffer with it, because they deserve all the love and support in the world. And quit talking about humus >.>
Only 1 in 700 children will be affected by this. It's like a lottery and well my number got picked and my daughter was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. It's time to raise awareness for this so more parents are prepared and know what to do, what to expect and how to stay strong. Once you're released from the hospital you're on your own. A lot of info I found online and I wish I had a strong support group in my town. This is my ultimate goal, to start a group in town where questions can be answered, we can have walks dedicated to raising funds for research. This is so important to me. Anyone that has been born with this needs to know they are beautiful, before and after surgery and never lose hope, take it one day at a time.
