Amadeus lives with his three siblings and mother in a refugee camp in northwest Tanzania. His family fled violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and moved into the camp several years ago. When his mother gave birth and looked at him for the first time, she was shocked. “I had never seen this and my previous three children did not have it” Mama Amadeus said, pointing to her son’s cleft lip.

“There is already a lot of life challenges at the refugee camp, and with my son’s condition I feared so much for his health because I could not breastfeed him. I thought he might be at greater risk for infectious diseases because his immunity was low.”

When a UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) worker saw Amadeus, she recognized his condition and explained what cleft lip was to Mama Amadeus. The worker then arranged for their two day travel to CCBRT Disability Hospital in Dar es Salaam. In May 2017 Amadeus’s lip was repaired and now he can eat without problem.

Before returning to the camp, Mama Amadeus said, “I am so glad the surgery went well and I really enjoyed being here at CCBRT. I am thankful to everyone who contributed to my son’s treatment and our stay here.”