MANILA, Philippines – A one year-old boy celebrated his first Christmas with a perfect smile and is looking forward to a bright New Year.
Born with both a cleft lip and palate in October 2010, Arwind Dwyne Samarro, with the help of Smile Train went into a surgery last July at the Deseret Craniofacial Center to correct his cleft lip and palate.
According to Nella Patani, grandmother and guardian of Arwind, the family was scared and deeply saddened upon discovering the boy’s deformities. “Naawa kami kay Arwind nung makita namin siya. Hindi namin maintindihan kung bakit ganun ang nangyari pero agad kaming naghanap ng paraan para matulungan siya (We all felt sorry for Arwind when we first saw him. We did not nderstand how it happened but we immediately sought for ways to help him).”
They were in church when someone saw Arwind and referred them to Smile Train. Through the organization, the family learned that Arwind’s condition can be improved by having him undergo an operation at the Craniofacial Foundation of the Philippines' Center.
“Parents who have a child with a cleft lip and/or palate should see a doctor immediately. Early medical and surgical intervention will help promote the proper growth of the face and enable the child to speak better, with the help of speech therapy," says Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon Dr. Enrico Valera, Vice-Chairman of the Craniofacial Foundation of the Philippines.
Although, there are still thousands of Filipinos living with unrepaired clefts and thousands more born each year, Smile Train hopes to change this with the help of partner doctors, organizations and advocates like the Craniofacial Foundation of the Philippines, Sen. Pia Cayetano and the Gabriel’s Symphony Foundation.
“Cleft lips and palates are a major problem in developing countries like the Philippines and the challenge has always been that parents are not aware of the implications of clefts in their child’s health and well-being. On top of this, many are not aware that the solution is simple and there are organizations like Smile Train who can help,” explained Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano, Smile Train’s Country Manager for the Philippines.