Villagers Shun Baby with Cleft Lip

CBN.com —Only twenty families live in the remote village in Cambodia where baby Ang was born.  The child was born with a cleft lip.  

“Our neighbors said that my husband and I must have done something bad in the past, that this was our punishment,” said the embarrassed young mother named Thorn.  

“They avoided us because they were afraid their babies would become like her too. I felt so much pain in my heart,” added Kam, Ang’s father.

The only doctor available for miles told the couple that their baby needed surgery at a city hospital.  Ang’s 6-year-old sister Sang Hoy begged her parents to get the operation. 

“Whenever I saw my sister’s lip, I wanted to cry.  I felt bad for her.  I wanted her to have lips like mine,” said Sang Hoy.

She cried when her parents told her that they could not afford the surgery.  As vegetable farmers, the couple couldn’t even afford the bus fare to take Ang to the hospital 75 miles away!

Then they met a stranger who said that his child had been born with a cleft lip, too.  He then told them how CBN had helped his son.   

“When we called CBN, they said they would help us too!” said Thorn.

 CBN arranged for travel to the hospital and provided the cleft lip surgery for free.   

“I’m so happy that my baby sister has a new lip,” said Sang Hoy. “She’s very pretty!”

“I think Ang will now have a good future.  Thank you, CBN, for helping my daughter and bringing happiness to our family!” said Thorn.

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