“Why Does She Look Like That?”

Three-year-old Monica was born with a cleft lip.  It made it difficult for her to eat or drink anything.  Her six-year-older sister, Durga, wanted to do something to help.

Durga explained, "When my little sister came home with her lip like that, I cried a lot.  I asked my mother why she was like that, but no one told me anything.  When she was getting older, everyone teased her and said, 'Why is she like that?  Can’t you do something to fix her?  Don’t your parents have money to make her all right?'"

Their father, Bhaktha, works in a tailoring shop.  He barely makes enough money to feed their family of five.

Bhaktha said, "When I saw that my daughter was born with a cleft lip, I felt very bad.  'How am I going to raise her? How will I be able to pay for a surgery?'"

Their mother, Laxmi, added, "I don’t go to work, because I need to take care of Monica and get my other daughters ready for school.  Sometimes we have food to eat, and sometimes we don’t."

Then CBN heard about Monica.  We immediately arranged for her to have a free cleft lip surgery.  When we went back a year later to see how Monica was doing, her beautiful smile said it all.

"She likes how she looks now," said Laxmi.  "She keeps looking at herself in the mirror.  She is very happy and she is able to eat and drink without any problems."

We also wanted to help Monica’s parents provide for their family.  So last year, after we learned that Monica’s mother knew how to sew, we gave her a sewing machine to start her own business from home.

Laxmi explained, "I get a lot of business from ladies, because there are very few tailors in the area.  If my husband and I work, we have enough money to buy our daughters food and clothes, and give them a good education and everything else they need."

Bhaktha said, "Now I am confident that all of my daughters will be independent and have a bright future."

"Thank you so much for giving my sister the surgery," said Durga with a smile.  "She is so happy and cute.  I also want to thank you for giving my mother the sewing machine, so we can buy good food to eat.  Thank you CBN."