Ibrahim's Story

Ibrahim before surgery

Ibrahim was born in Bangladesh with a craniofacial cleft. Ibrahim was lucky to have a supportive family who made the long journey from home to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where he was treated by the CLEFT team. Ibrahim's dad said "People used to be scared of him, they used to look away. When he entered the operation room I felt apprehensive and worried...only Allah knows what will be the outcome."

Ibrahim after surgery

The next planned operation will be a bone graft to his orbital margin to replace missing bone. Follow Ibrahim's story in the videos below:

UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2022

Ibrahim came back to the cleft centre in February 2022 as part of his treatment plan. Age 9 now, Ibrahim's scars have healed well but he will need further operations at Dhaka Medical College Hospital before he reaches adulthood and will continue to be looked after with the help of the money provided by CLEFT. Ibrahim has made friends with Kamrul, another little boy who also has a craniofacial cleft, pictured below together at the hospital:

If you would like to read Kamrul's story, please click here.

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Privacy Policy
At CLEFT, we’re committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Policy explains when and why we collect personal information about people who contact us, how we use it, the conditions under which we may disclose it to others and how we keep it secure.
We may change this Policy from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure that you’re happy with any changes. By using our website, you’re agreeing to be bound by this Policy.

Any questions regarding this Policy and our privacy practices should be sent by email to [email protected] or by writing to CLEFT, 10a Warren Estate, Lordship Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 3WT. Alternatively, you can telephone 01245 421901.

Who are we?
We are CLEFT, we support cleft lip and palate teams in poorer countries by working with local surgeons and other specialists to help them develop high quality multidisciplinary cleft centres. We do this by visiting and working with them regularly, helping to provide education and training and donating much needed equipment. Our goal is to help local teams so that children born with clefts in these countries will have the same opportunities as those in the UK.

CLEFT also supports research in the UK which will potentially benefit the much greater number of cleft lip and palate patients in countries other than the UK. Our research projects include a pilot project to develop techniques for 3-D MRI scanning of the palate, a study of the muscles of the soft palate to try to improve the quality of the surgery as well as investigating submucous cleft palate development and therapy.

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You can make a one-off donation today or sign up to giving a regular monthly gift. All donations, small or large, will help us to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate both now and in the future. 100% of your donation today will go towards funding an international or research project thanks to a charitable trust covering all our administrative costs until February 2025.
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