Victoria Finds Her Voice

Victoria’s birth parents did not know how to feed a baby with a cleft palate. When Veronilee passed by and saw the drastically underweight infant dying from malnutrition, she knew that she needed to step in. Veronilee adopted Victoria and, over the next several months, nursed Victoria back to health.

Once Victoria was healthy, Veronilee knew Victoria’s cleft palate needed to be repaired. She found a private hospital but was told the surgery would cost $2,500, an impossible amount to afford.

Five years later, Victoria was very excited to make new friends at her first day of school. However, because of her unrepaired cleft palate, she struggled to pronounce words correctly. Victoria was mocked and ridiculed by the other children in her school. After months of abuse, she would not participate or speak in class at all.

Veronilee heard about Smile Train’s Amazon outreach program in late 2014. After an evaluation, Victoria was deemed an excellent candidate for a Smile Train sponsored surgery, so the mother and daughter journeyed down the Rio Marañón to visit Smile Train partner Hospital Geral Benjamin Constant. Although Victoria and Veronilee admitted they were scared about the surgery, it turned out to be a complete success.

Thanks to her cleft palate surgery, Victoria’s speech skills are improving quickly. Victoria can pronounce more words every day and her confidence is growing. Now she takes an active interest in her school work and participates in class discussions. Her mother says that she loves to see Victoria coming home from school happy.

One way Victoria practices her speech is through singing and performing. She is fascinated by music and is always eager to perform.

Today, Veronilee is happy that the days of worry and uncertainty are over, and is hopeful of a bright future for Victoria. She recently said, “The treatment provided by Smile Train has turned Victoria into a happy and healthy child. Now she can be like every other kid her age and she has a bright and promising future.”

Portions of text written by Robin Wyatt and all images © Robin Wyatt Vision: robinwyatt.org/photography | [email protected]