Marium’s Story

Just after being born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, baby Marium, perhaps only a day old, was abandoned on a public bus. She was discovered by some passengers, and then the police placed her in an orphanage in Myamanshingh, Bangladesh. The orphanage has been run for the past 56 years by Rev. Eugene Homrich, a Holy Cross Priest from the USA. The orphanage also has a small clinic in a village for childbirth and snake bites, and as a safe hideout for pregnant girls, muslim, hindu, and tribal.

A good friend of Dr Hasan Sarwar, Dr Shah Alam Talukder, a paediatric Surgeon in Myamansingh Medical College Hospital who works voluntarily for this orphanage, brought Marium to the Aussi Bangla Smile team at the  Jibon Tari floating Hospital which was then about two hours travel from the orphanage.

At the time of her operation, Marium was nearly five months old. Due to her deformity, she was unable to eat properly. She was anaemic, malnourished, and weighed only 4kg. These factors placed Marium at risk from anaesthesia, however without surgery her condition would not have improved. Aussi Bangla Smile team anaesthetists, Dr Erika Agius and Dr Steve Cooper, made special preparations. The operation was performed by Dr Sarwar. Post-operative recovery was uneventful, and the next morning Marium looked very happy and began smiling which captured everyone’s hearts.

Marium will require further surgery to repair her cleft palate and this is planned for the next Aussi Bangla Smile team’s visit.

Team Leader Judy Barlow and the rest of the team were so moved that they decided to sponsor Marium up to the age of 10. Ten team members immediately donated AU$360 (27,720 Taka) for one year’s expenditure on milk and other needs. Rev. Homrich was very happy to hear that the Aussi Bangla Smile team members have sponsored Marium. He wrote:

“She looks beautiful after repairs and I will have her adopted in a Muslim family when her palate is repaired. Many thanks for taking care of Marium.  A good Garo family took her to Birishiri yesterday,. I’ll have her adopted legally when she is older. She is very intelligent. The family is childless and will do a good job raising the child. I gave her Tk.10,000 for milk and will give the balance when I get it.  We get pregnant, unmarried girls in our little Bethany Clinic here and we give the babies according to the religion of the mother thru the Courts. I’ll send the baby for repairs next year. This is a beautiful project…please thank all for their help…Sincerely, Rev. Eugene E. Homrich, CSC”

The 2011 team performed a total of 115 operations bringing the grand total for Aussi Bangla Smile to 421 so far. Each of these cases has its own story, Marium’s is just one full of pathos and joy and hope for the future.

Thank you for all your support without which we could not do this work.

Hasan Sarwar

A Story of Father and Daughter

Sree Sankar, a 55 yo boatman and father of two, had his cleft lip repaired previously (Nov 2010) by Dr Hasan Sarwar with the Aussi Bangla Smile Team at Jibon Mela Hospital.  When asked if he is happy with the surgery, the smile on his face says it all:

“I am ecstatic and extremely grateful to Aussi Bangla Smile team and Dr Hasan!”

He was so happy with the surgery, he came back and he brought his second and youngest daughter Shompa Rani, 20 years old, with incomplete cleft lip, confident that she can have high quality surgery for her condition:

Before Surgery                                                                        After Surgery!!!

Father and Daughter went back home both with beautiful smiles on their faces….

Two lives changed, for the best!!!

Submitted by Dr Grace Maano

Dr Grace Maano’s video

Dr Grace Maano (left) joined the team in Bangladesh departing from Brisbane. Dr Maano is involved in establishing a separate RAWCS project to address certain women’s health needs in Bangladesh and worked with the rest of the 2011 team at the Jibon Mela land hospital. This video made by Dr Maano shows something of what it was like for the November 2011 team to work at the Jibon Mela land hospital in Bangladesh. 62 of the 115 patients treated on this visit were treated at the Jibon Mela.