CB BureauRecently, a four-month-old baby, Vedika, was treated for her cleft-lip surgery by a team of experts at the Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) in Gurgaon. This is part of the Fortis Foundation’s Umeed-Smile initiative which supports cleft-lip surgeries for children from underprivileged backgrounds. Vedika is the 100th child benefitting from the programme. The surgeries are completely free except for any voluntary contribution from the family. Two post-surgery follow-ups are provided to assess the health of the child.
Vedika was first diagnosed with a cleft-lip condition when her mother was seven months pregnant. After her birth, she was unable to drink her mother’s milk and had difficulty in breathing. With a monthly income of Rs 7,500, her family could not afford the expensive treatment. After learning about this initiative, they reached out to the Foundation for help.
The Umeed-Smile initiative was started this year and has been working in collaboration with Mission Smile under the Foundation’s Aanchal programme to provide free surgeries for cleft lip and cleft palate to children from poor families. The Aanchal programme aims at providing medical treatment to children suffering from congenital heart defect and cleft lip and cleft palate deformities. However, going forward, the programme will focus on Umeed-Dhadkan initiative for children with congenital heart defects, with the target to treat around 500 children this year.
In a press release shared with CB, Jasbir Singh Grewal, head, Fortis Foundation, said, ‘The joy of bringing to smiles to children and their families is the greatest achievement for all of us at Fortis Foundation. These smiles give us the strength to go from child to child, knowing that we are making a difference to their lives.’