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We were able to perform 4,634 operations in 2020 despite Corona. At 48 locations in nine countries, our local teams mastered the unexpected challenges and secured our help for cleft children. New hygiene and protection concepts were created, which resulted in additional financial costs of an average of 50 euros per operation for us. We have been calculating costs per operation of EUR 300 since 2021.

For the second year in a row, BILD hilft e. V. is supporting cleft children in Pakistan. The funding from the aid organization of German newspaper BILD funds operations for children with cleft lip and palate in various regions of Pakistan. The cleft children and their families will benefit from this valuable support for a whole year. A big thank you!

In 2021, Lachen e.V. celebrates its 25th anniversary: The charity was founded in 1996 by German soldiers and police officers to support children in war and crisis areas. Afghanistan is one of the charity's priority countries. Lachen e.V.'s humanitarian aid focuses on projects promoting education and health. In their anniversary year we are grateful for their generous donation of 5,000 euros and wish them another 25 successful years!

Cleft children in Bolivia suffer doubly under the corona pandemic: It is not only the direct effects of the pandemic that hit the poor families hard. Many aid organizations helping them also had to stop their work due to travel restrictions. As a result, many cleft children remain untreated. Daisy was very lucky: During our Bolivian partner Dr. Mamani's cleft surgery visit to Potosí, she received the surgery she needed.

For the first time in 15 months, our partner organization Qorito led by Dr Alberto Bardales carried out an aid mission outside of Lima from May 14th to 16th. Our Peruvian team was able to operate on 16 patients in Ayaviri, a small town in the very south of the country. The next missions are already planned. The surgical missions of our local team are now more important than ever.

Duong's mother is blind. She works in a massage center, where she meets Duong's father. It wasn't until the fourth month that Duong's mother even realized she was pregnant. Duong is born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. The father visits his son only once, after which he breaks off contact with the mother of his child and disappears. Read on to learn more about how we were able to help Duong and his mother.

For the first time in 15 months, our partner organization Qorito led by Dr Alberto Bardales carried out an aid mission outside of Lima from May 14th to 16th. Our Peruvian team was able to operate on 16 patients in Ayaviri, a small town in the very south of the country. The next missions are already planned. The surgical missions of our local team are now more important than ever.

Raiganj is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. The capital is Kolkata, formerly Calcutta. With over 91 million inhabitants, West Bengal is the fourth largest state in India. There are few treatment options for cleft patients available in the region. We have been running a cleft center in Kolkata since 2018 and are now pleased to be able to expand our aid for cleft children in West Bengal to Raiganj as a new location.

Prof. Ganatra has headed our aid project in Pakistan since 2016. A partner we can rely on - even in times of the pandemic. He has sent us impressions of one of his last surgery days. Seven mothers came to Al-Mustafa-Welfare Hospital in Karachi on January 9th with their children - and with great hope.

The parents of our cleft children are always full of gratitude. When their child is born with cleft, they often do not know what to make of the malformation, much less that it can be treated. And even if they do - most of our little patients come from the poorest of backgrounds. Their parents could never afford the operation. It is an unimaginable happiness for them to learn that their children can receive qualified treatment, and free of charge even. This wonderful, touching film from our Bolivian aid project captures these special moments of happiness.

This film, made for our Pakistani partner organization, the Al-Mustafa Welfare Societey, by the father of one of our patients, shows scenes from our work in Karachi. From here, our senior surgeon Prof. Ashraf Ganatra treats cleft children from poorest families. He operates the children from Karachi at the Al Mustafa Medical Center. In order to reach the many needy families living outside the city, he also regularly heads out to local provincial hospitals to treat cleft patients there.

As a baby, Dat fell victim to an unqualified surgery. Probably inexperienced doctors severed important arteries during his palate surgery in Vietnam. The result: a large hole in the palate that massively affects the boy's life. We brought him to Germany to get reconstructive surgery. An individual case that due to the financial and human cost must remain an exception. In this video, we want to draw attention to the risks of "safari surgery" as opposed to sustainable development aid.