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Dec 2014 back issue
A total of 46 children suffering cleft lips and cleft palates were given free operations and treatment by Smile Angel
Foundation in China’s Northwestern Qinghai province, August 2013. These children come from underprivileged families
who otherwise, cannot afford medical treatment to correct their condition.
Qinghai is China’s fourth-largest province in size, but has the third-smallest population. Its population comprises of
50% of Han ethnicity and the rest are made up of Tibetan, Hui, Tu, Salar and Mongol ethnicities.
Outside of the provincial capital, Xining, most of Qinghai remains underdeveloped. Its per capita GDP is amongst the
lowest in China. Most Qinghai residents make a living in agriculture and husbandry.
Smile Angel Foundation is a Beijing-based charity founded in 2006 to help Chinese children born with clefts.
Approximately 1 in 700 children born in China have a cleft lip or a cleft palate or both.
A Tibetan woman bids farewell to her granddaughter as she leaves their home in Hualong for a cleft palate operation
organized by Smile Angel Foundation at hospitals in Xining, Qinghai province, China, August 2013. (Names withheld
for privacy)
A Tibetan woman helps her granddaughter wear a traditional necklace for protection and good luck before she leaves
their home in Hualong for a cleft palate operation organized by Smile Angel Foundation at hospitals in Xining.
A Tibetan woman poses with her daughter before leaving their home in Hualong for a cleft palate operation organized
by Smile Angel Foundation.
A Tibetan father plays with his young son before the boy's
cleft lip operation.
A Tibetan father poses with his daughter before her cleft
palate operation.
A Tibetan couple plays with their daughter before her cleft palate operation.
A Tibetan man and his son go for a walk before the boy's cleft lip operation.
Chinese children born with clefts wait for the start of a training course and workshop before three-days of cleft palate
operations.
A Chinese woman poses with her daughter before the
girl's cleft palate operation.
A Tibetan girl sits in bed before a cleft palate operation.
Chinese doctors prepare a child for a cleft palate operation.
A Tibetan couple comforts their daughter before she goes
into an operating theatre.
A Tibetan woman carries her daughter's shoes as she
undergoes a cleft palate operation.
A Muslim mother waits outside an operating theatre as
her son undergoes a cleft lip operation.
A Chinese woman plays with her son after the baby had a cleft lip operation.
A Muslim couple and family members tend their son after a cleft lip operation.
by Andrew Wong
