“I traced the letter in the dust with my finger, spelling out my name: Zulaikha” is the first sentence in ‘Words in the dust.’ This book has changed our minds and given us a great opportunity to understand more about the people who have cleft lips. Students in Grade 10 EAL met with representatives from Operation Smile after reading about Zulaika and asked how we could help others like her to get the surgeries they need to change their lives The book follows the life of a normal young girl Zulaikha, from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, she was born with a cleft lip. As readers, we felt empathy with her when we heard about all the trouble she goes through just because she doesn’t look like everyone else.   

She has a hard time eating, pronouncing letters, and speaking clearly. The other villagers bully her and don’t treat her like a real human being. She hopes for peace and happiness for her family and relations when she finally gets the opportunity to have surgery to fix her face.

But what is a cleft lip? The most simple definition is a congenital split in the upper lip on one or both sides of the center, often associated with a cleft palate. Which is a congenital split in the roof of the mouth. 

Children with cleft lip or a cleft palate have serious problems mostly in eating and breathing. As they grow older, they may also have speech and language delays, which is why we have decided to raise money for Operation Smile, an organization that helps children all over the world get the surgery they need. 

We want to help children with cleft lip or a cleft palate, by spreading awareness about this problem. Our class has done this in different ways.  

We have created friendship bracelets with supporting cards during class time for the children who have taken their surgery. We are raising this awareness also by making a donation website for Operation Smile.

We are really happy you took our time to read this article, and we hope it made you think about it. Because it is a thing you can help with. All the help we got from this was in partnership with Operation Smile, the organisation that spreads awareness about exactly this problem.  

For you to help, you can go look at the  Operation Smile website and search around for more information. It would also be a huge help if you would like to donate some money.  You can donate here – Grade 10 Operations Smile. 

If you ever come across someone with a cleft palate, you shouldn’t make your focus go there, even if it can be interesting. Because they surely know they have it and just want to be treated like the rest of us.