Chronicle Editor
Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]
IMAGINE giving birth to a child, and instead of celebrating their arrival, your family cruelly labels them a “goblin” due to their cleft lip or cleft palate condition.
Such has been the experience of Ms Siphosenkosi Ndlovu, mother to two-year-old, Tadiwanashe Mhlanga, whose condition attracted a lot of stigma and hate speech from a family that she was forced to live with in rural Chinhoyi.
Her in-laws insisted she leaves her parents’ home in Bulawayo and stay in Chinhoyi where she would “hide” her son in a small hut as he was “a disgrace” to the family.
Ms Ndlovu was called names and accused of gross crimes, including witchcraft, a reason that possibly led to the birth defect of her son.
But like all mothers, she loved him more and was ready to spend her lifetime protecting him from everyone who thought he was not human enough.
Thanks to Operation of Hope, Tadiwanashe had his cleft lip condition fixed on Sunday and for the first time since he was born, he has been accepted as a “normal” child.
The young boy is part of the 88 beneficiaries to receive free cleft lip, cleft palate and lipoma surgeries at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo, courtesy of Operation of Hope.
Ms Ndlovu could barely hold her tears back after the successful surgery conducted on her son. The ecstatic mother said the surgery had not only brought a smile to her son’s face but an end to the stigma she had endured from the time she gave birth.
“When I gave birth, they referred to my child as a ‘thing’, some saying he was a goblin who had no place in the family. I was forced to go and live in the rural areas and there we were given a hut where I was to keep my child away from everyone,” she recalled.
“He was not allowed to go out of the room for anything, but I am happy that finally, God smiled on me. He had a successful operation and his mouth is now normal. I can now go back home with a normal child and see him enjoy life like his peers, something he hasn’t enjoyed since he was born.”
Miss Nkazimulo Nyathi (18) from Lusulu area in Binga District sat on one of the beds in the same ward, continuously looking at her daughter who had a successful operation.
Like Ms Ndlovu, she had to endure stigma after the father of the girl bluntly said he could not accept a disabled child.
“When I gave birth at St Luke’s all was well until it was discovered that my daughter had a defect. Her father went AWOL and told me he wanted nothing to do with that child since she had a defect,” said Ms Nyathi.
“She was called names and I found refuge in my mother’s home back in Binga where we were accepted and treated with love. I have been dreaming about this day ever since because doctors at St Luke’s had told me that the defect could be fixed, hence I’m grateful to Operation of Hope; they are angels from above.
“I was so relieved when I came for screening and seeing more children with the same defect, it made me realise that I was not alone, in fact, I started believing that indeed it’s a normal defect.”
For Miss Charity Mobe, having a child with a defect had attracted a lot of questions from neighbours and relatives who always had something to say whenever they saw her daughter.
“I always had to explain why she couldn’t eat normally like the others and why she had a defect,” she said.
“I am happy to be here again for my second attempt since last year she had surgery for a palate and we were told to come back this year for the cleft lip.”
Mpilo public relations officer, Matron Norma Mabhena, said babies with cleft lip and palate often look thinner and smaller than their peers.
“We are happy that the team is here for cleft lip and palate, which is often regarded as a curse or result of prostitution by the mother and witchcraft.
“We are grateful that Operation of Hope continues to show our communities that such birth defects are normal, there is no need for us to stigmatise or torment mothers for what they are not responsible for,” she said.
“We continue raising awareness and calling on mothers and guardians to come forward for screening on Sunday, May 12. We know that facial disabilities affect one’s self-esteem hence we are calling on everyone to come on board and help us put smiles on these faces.”
Online Reporter