Bismita’s Life Changed Forever – A Mission Smile ‘Impact’ Story

India is on the verge of being a superpower.  Yet the life of a child born with cleft deformities remains pathetic. Neglected and left alone to suffer, these children remain trapped within their bodies. Where there should have been sympathy, there is a stigma. Instead of compassion and care, there is social seclusion.

Reconstructive surgery is the best and the only way to correct cleft lip and cleft palate deformities in children and adults alike. In fact, this renders a permanent solution to their medical problems.

Bismita’s life would have followed the same script as above if she had not been a fortunate one! Today we’re going to share her story of transformation.

Bismita Rajbongshi from Assam had a bilateral cleft lip and palate deformity. The cleft deformity also prevented her from feeding properly. In fact, this deprived her of the necessary nutrition. As a result of which Bismita fell victim to malnutrition by three months of age.

Her worsening condition, added to the stigma in their community,  left her parents worried. Some called it a ‘divine curse’, others hailed Bismita’s parents responsible. Bismita’s mom has said in an interview that back in those days, she was even scared of taking Bismita outside the house. She also feared the social stigma and shame they faced. Moreover, the hefty expense needed for cleft surgery at a private hospital was unaffordable for the low-income family.

Thus, the information of Mission Smile came across as a ray of hope for the family.

Bismita’s parents visited Mission Smile’s Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre (GC4). The doctors screened Bismita and enrolled her in the Cleft Nutrition Programme . This was to improve her health parameters for safe surgery. As part of the programme, she received treatment for malnutrition through close for the next four months. This was until she attained the necessary parameters to undertake the surgical procedure.

Eventually, Bismita first received her surgery to repair her cleft lip at Mission Smile’s Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre. Again, a second surgery after six months repaired her cleft palate. Bismita’s grimace finally turned into a smile!

Bismita’s story doesn’t end there. As part of Mission Smile’s Impact Assessment, our team recently visited Bismita’s family. We are very happy to see her transformation and assimilation into society. Today Bismita is like any other average child. She goes to school regularly, plays with her friends, helps her mother in her household works. She is growing stronger with every passing day. During our visit to the school, we realised that Bismita is a regular in school and doing well in her studies. Our team joy knew no bound to see Bismita at par with her classmates.

Once scared to take her daughter out of the house, today, Bismita’s mother is happy and relaxed. She sees her daughter leading an everyday life just like other girls of her age. The parents are thankful to Mission Smile for bringing this change in their daughter’s life and theirs. According to Bismita’s parents, this is a ‘miracle’, but to us, this is the IMPACT of rendering comprehensive cleft care early on in life.

At Mission Smile, we’re striving to bring more smiles to the faces of cleft affected children. In this mission, we need your support.

DONATE to Mission Smile for more Smiles.

 

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