Surgery, research, and education. SumbingBibir’s volunteers are active in all of these areas, buthowever dedicated we are, we cannot make a difference without your help. Your donations will enable us to cover the costs of surgical equipment, medicine, housing and hospitals. Together we can help around 100 children each year! Please help us, help them. Let’s change the world for these children on the other side of the globe…
- Sumbing Bibir
The Sumbing Bibir Foundation would like to thank all of her generous donors! Thanks to you, children of the Indonesian islands will get a new lease on life. A healthy life without discrimination, despite the fact that they were born with a cleft lip and/or palate. A relatively large number of children in the Indonesian archipelago are born with a cleft lip and/or palate. A physical scar that stretches deeper than the known shortened life expectancy, but also carries the emotional burden of social rejection. A real shame, especially when you realise that there is a relatively simple surgical solution. Unfortunately, the families of these Indonesian children don’t have the financial means to pay for such medical care.
The SumbingBibir Foundation was established in November 1993to try to improve the quality of life for children born with cleft lip and/or palate. A team of Belgian and Dutch specialists regularly travels to Indonesia to volunteer their services and operate on hundreds of children with a cleft lip and/or palate. These volunteers not only treat patients, but also invest time and effort into scientific research and education. Activities that require funding. Surgical equipment and medicine are the largest expenses, but housing and hospitals also cost a lot of money. You too can make a difference with a financial contribution that can help us provide the desperately needed medical care in Indonesia.
The specialists of the Sumbing Bibir Foundation collaborate in three fields in order to provide structural care to the Indonesian archipelago children with cleft lip and/or palate:
Treating patients forms the crux of our work. Various health risks, including infections, are associated with untreated cleft lip and/or palate. Consequently, many children born with a cleft lip and/or palate will not survive to celebrate their tenth birthday. Additional to a shortened life expectancy, many also carry the burden of social rejection. This is hard to accept, and even harder when you realise that a relatively inexpensive surgical procedure can provide these children with better quality of life and chance of social acceptance.
The Sumbing Bibir Foundation strive to educate local Indonesian specialists and ultimately enable them to independently carry out the appropriate surgical treatment and provide the necessary recovery care.
Cleft lip and/or palate is quite common in the Indonesian archipelago. Research shows that apart from it being hereditary, environmental factors can also contribute to the development of a cleft. Unfortunately its exact cause and possible prevention still elude us and can only be clarified through extensive research. The collection and analysis of patient data may contribute to our knowledge regarding this discrepancy and improve treatment methods.
