Myanmar Kindness Organization arranged the journeys for two six-year-old boys to come to Sagaing to repair their cleft palates. The families each live in remote villages in Myanmar and would not have known about cleft medical missions or how to be considered for corrective surgery if not for MKO. Additionally, they would not have been able to arrange travel to the hospital where the mission takes place.

Bran Aung, pictured above with his mom, lives with his grandmother because his mom works. He and his grandmother traveled for three hours to pick up his mom at her home before they all arrived at the meeting place to take the train ride – from 8 am to 3 am the following morning. The uncomfortable train ride prevented any sort of rest. After arrival, they endured a two-hour tuk-tuk ride to our hospital in Sagaing.

Zong Bawn, pictured on the right with Mayzin, a retired teacher and member of MKO, will return to school as a second grader in June. While his friends accepted his speech issues, Zong wishes to surprise them with his improved speech after his successful palate surgery this past week. Chai Nom, Zong’s mom, exhausted by the difficult journey from home to Sagaing and the change in climate, delights in her son’s successful surgery and hopes that some day with his improved speech, he will be a famous singer.

Both boys’ moms wish to thank the members of the AfS team and Myanmar Kindness Organization for arranging the journey and surgery. The moms are both excited about the results of the surgeries and are eager to share the information with friends in their villages who have children with cleft and might be able to have the same wonderful outcomes for their children.