Transforming Cleft

The team at Transforming Cleft is saddened by the passing of our volunteer, Mary Partridge.

Mary has given her time and skillsets to Transforming Cleft since 2019. Alongside fellow volunteer, Roger Abbott, they passionately implemented an electronic medical record system for our partner, Yekatit 12 Hospital and Medical College, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

To date, her contributions to systems and technology have enhanced the care of over 1,000 children with cleft lip and palate in Ethiopia.

We are profoundly grateful for her service.

To donate in honour of Mary & to read more about her work with Transforming Cleft: https://transformingcleft.org/mary-partridge/

Because of You - is the finale in Transforming Cleft's three-part Bolivia video series featuring Fundación Ayninakuna in Cochabamba.

This 10-minute story explores the perseverance of parents, the hopeful futures of Deymar and Josué, and a dedicated team guiding every step to full rehabilitation.

This story carries moments of sorrow and plenty of moments of triumph.

Watch today:

https://youtu.be/hjlYfNxr1Qw

We wish you the happiest of holiday seasons and a positive close to 2025!

As ever, we're incredibly grateful for the dedicated local cleft professionals who ensure that children have access to the care they deserve.

Thanks to supporters like you, this full circle of care continues to grow.

To donate: https://transformingcleft.org/donate/

Laced and Andry’s midwife had news. It was the very fear that had weighed on their hearts. Marcella was born with a cleft palate, just like their older daughter, Sarobidy.

Two months later, the family’s answer came in the form of a radio ad.

Read on: https://transformingcleft.org/story/marcellas-answer/

“It was like a cold bucket of water pouring over me…”. Rubí described the moment she learned her son Brian would be born with a cleft lip and palate.

If Brian’s cleft diagnosis was like a bucket of cold water, Transforming Cleft's local partner team at Tseinan was the sunshine ready to dry... ready... to move the family forward in their cleft care journey.

https://transformingcleft.org/story/brian-reads-aloud/

Journeymakers come together to ensure children have access to the care they deserve, at the right time, as close to home as possible.

Who are we? A community of monthly givers - individuals like you - who know that cleft care is a process and full rehabilitation is possible with the backing of a skilled, local team.

Join today, your monthly gift will be matched for all of 2026: https://transformingcleft.org/journeymakers/

in The Globe and Mail today:

"This GivingTuesday, TC is launching Journeymakers, a new monthly giving program.

When you give monthly you are sustaining the entire cleft care journey that children deserve to access."

This month, new members can join with their gift matched all year.

Learn More:
https://transformingcleft.org/journeymakers/

Be a Journeymaker Journeymakers come together to ensure children have access to the care they deserve, at the right time, as close to home as possible.

Seven, Eight, Nine –

Nora counted the hours from her delivery bed. Why had no one brought her baby yet? Something wasn’t right.

At 3:00 p.m., the doctor arrived. Her newborn son, Carlos, had a cleft lip and palate.

Holding him in her arms, it was the first time she had seen someone with cleft.

The future was unclear, but support from others was a lifeline.

Now, it's 30 years later.

Read the long-format story ➡️
https://transformingcleft.org/carlos-story/

In areas where regular in person speech therapy is extremely difficult, speech camps can provide stability and a bridge between teletherapy sessions. Caregiver's and families can learn reinforcement techniques to practice with their children at home and speech therapists can assess the child's progress and provide reinforcement of progress.

Over the years, our local partner has facilitated them in Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. The intensive model has proven to be impactful.