The German Cleft Children’s Aid Society is actively committed to cleft children in Peru since 2006. Our main partner there is the Peruvian association “Qorito”, http://www.qorito.org/index.php , which is led by Dr. Alberto Bardales, a surgeon who received his training from us. Since Peru is a very inaccessible country on account of the terrain, we built up a network of physicians, nurses and contact persons to reach the affected families. This enables us to lead surgery campaigns for cleft children on a regular basis in varying, sometimes very remote locations. Our regular contact points for children with cleft lips and palates were established in Lima, Cuzco and Chiclayo/Lambayeque. Currently we are adding an additional site in Huanuco, which lies at an altitude of 2,800 metres.
More than 400 children are freed from their cleft every year in up to ten, sometimes very remote villages. Our Peruvian teams work voluntarily or for a very small salary. The on-site help is provided through local physicians which creates a great trust among the population. In this way we can enable surgery at an early stage for an increasing number of children. The committed ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Ulrike Lamlé – whose husband was the German deputy ambassador to Peru up until 2008 – is responsible for the programme.
A lot still needs to be done in Peru in order to ensure comprehensive care. Besides continuing the surgery we want to intensify our educational work and improve the aftercare.
