PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday bid farewell to four doctors ahead of their trip to Kenya for voluntary cleft lip operations as Zimbabwe continues to spread its wings on the diplomatic map.
Speaking at State House in Harare during a send-off ceremony, President Mnangagwa expressed gratitude to the doctors for going to represent the country.
“I am so happy that they are going to do cleft lip operations in Kenya as a philanthropic exercise.
“I am also elated that they are giving this service to our sister country, the Republic of Kenya. I am giving them a send-off of good wishes to Kenya,” he said.
The local doctors from Love Without Reason, Zimbabwean chapter, said they were going to be hosted by their fellow doctors from the Kenyan chapter.
Team leader Dr Farai Addre Danda thanked President Mnangagwa for assisting them.
“There is cleft lip and cleft palate. There are quite a number of deformities centred around there, but basically, they are deformities of the face.
“We are going to be in Kenya for about a week. Possibly we will do in excess of about 50 operations,” he said.
Dr Danda said they have done quite a number of such operations locally at Parirenyatwa, Sally Mugabe and Chitungwiza Hospitals.
A Pediatric Anesthetist Dr Danai Marange said the condition is a very distressing one especially in the Zimbabwean culture which is almost the same across Africa as some attribute it to witchcraft.
Dr Marange said the condition can actually result in families breaking up.
“In our culture mothers are the nurturers and are more affected by it and it needs a lot of social support and without that it becomes very difficult,” she said.
“Afterwards if they are a bit older it is actually an emotional period as it is associated with stigma and even bullying from other children who will be seeing the defects that do not look nice.” – The Herald
