Our Peruvian team regularly travels throughout Peru to treat cleft patients. In August, they went to the Andean town of Huanuco.
Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe e.V.
Aid for children with cleft and lip palate
Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe e.V.
Aid for children with cleft and lip palate


Donation for cleft children
A cleft child’s life-transforming – and sometimes even life-saving – surgery costs only 300 euros.


Donation for cleft children
A cleft child’s life-transforming – and sometimes even life-saving – surgery costs only 300 euros.
Cleft Wiki
What is cleft?
Surgery Sponsorship
Info & FAQ
Success Stories
Every smile tells a story
Helping children with cleft lip and palate
Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common birth defects. One in 500 children is affected, even in Germany. While these children have the full support of the healthcare system here, in many other countries this is not the case. Children from poor families in developing countries often do not have access to qualified treatment. Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe comes to their aid, funding the surgeries and followup therapies they need. With success: In the first 20 years of our association's history since 2002, more than 70,000 surgeries were enabled, and with them new, happier lives for thousands of cleft children.
Without treatment, cleft children are severely impaired in their daily lives. They are often ostracized because of their appearance, and live on the margins of society with their families. Depending on the type and severity of the cleft, they face severe functional impairments. The children cannot swallow, eat or drink properly. As babies, they are often mal- and undernourished, making them susceptible to infectious diseases. In the worst case, their lives can be endangered as a result.
Your donation gives cleft children a chance to live healthy, happy lives.
Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe in numbers...
Since its founding in 2002, Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe has been dedicated to a concrete goal: helping children with cleft lip and palate.
Today, Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe offers help for children with cleft lip and palate at 40 project locations in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
New record number: Deutsche Cleft Kinderhilfe funded 7,899 cleft operations in 2022, its 20th anniversary year.
The success record of our work from 2002 to 2022: 72,492 surgeries for patients with cleft lip and palate.
... and in success stories
































The 70,000 surgeries we have funded since 2002 represent thousands of success stories. Stories told by the children who are able to live a new life thanks to their surgery. Our donors are the foundation of this global aid effort.

12 x 25 Euro = 1 saved child
With a monthly donation of 25 euros, you finance a child's life-changing operation every year.
A small amount that makes a huge difference.

12 x 25 Euro = 1 saved child
With a monthly donation of 25 euros, you finance a child's life-changing operation every year.
A small amount that makes a huge difference.
Our aid projects
What course the life of a child born with cleft takes depends strongly on what country it is born in. In the countries where we are active, the availability of qualified treatment for children with cleft lip and palate cannot be taken for granted. Often, they have to wait years before they can access surgery, or they have to live their entire lives with their very visible malformation. It is our goal to offer a reliable heloing hand for these children and their families. Click here to see in which countries we help patients with cleft lip and palate.