Cleft lip and palate are birth defects. “It could happen to anyone,” Lorna says. Unfortunately, people are human, and they don’t always understand. They often don’t show the compassion to those born with the condition. Even after surgery is performed, a person who had a cleft lip and palate is still left with scars and speech that sounds different.
In Kenya, Smile Train partners with CURE Kenya to sponsor surgeries for kids with cleft lip and palate. Thankfully, Smile Train's support doesn’t end there. They also sponsor speech therapy for patients who have undergone surgery. “They’re really, really invested,” Lorna told us. But Smile Train can’t do it alone. They need help! And that’s how we met Lorna. She runs one of the largest speech therapy centers in all of Africa. Located in Nairobi, the center is called HearSay and Read. Lorna brings a team of speech therapy assistants to CURE Kenya to work with cleft lip and palate patients after they’ve healed from surgery. We had a chance to sit down with her and her team.
When asked why she loves her job, she told us: “I guess it’s restoring hope for the parents. When you have a baby, you have these hopes and aspirations for them.” She shared with us that for parents whose children are born with cleft lip and palate, they seem to lose hope. After the kiddos have surgery though, their parents are able to take them to speech therapy, and this helps bring hope back. Just being at the speech therapy camp is good for the parents: “They don’t have to explain,” says Lorna. No one is asking a bunch of questions about their child or their child’s condition. The other mamas know and understand. (Read more about Lorna's experience here!)
Rose sees therapy in a holistic way: She loves watching the commitment of the parents. “We can see lots of difference for those children … the parents didn’t give up. The parents know if they (the kiddos) practice, they can get better.” Doing speech therapy really benefits all parties involved!
Faith sees the difference speech therapy makes and loves the impact they have on the patients and their families. “We see them transforming from one level to another,” she says.
The little ones and their parents aren’t the only ones growing through therapy. While here, Judy had the chance to work with older kiddos. “You also learn a lot from them, the stories they tell us.” One story she shared with us involved a girl named Faith. Judy learned about Faith’s life; she was treated poorly by other girls because of her articulation. Sometimes, Faith gets asked questions about the way she talks “It involves some sort of bullying,” Judy explains. Faith doesn’t have many friends at school. But this week, Judy noticed a change: “There’s a lot of improvement! In fact, she’s very happy. She’s saying if she goes to school, the friends will notice some change.”
Amani notices how speech therapy changes the way the kiddos interact: “There’s been an improvement. I think the kids were quite fearful to interact – not only with teachers, but each other. They’ve become more confident,” she says.
“I like the connectivity that they bring into their lives. For example, in (Judy's) table, she has an artist. He does spoken word.” One of the older boys doing speech therapy actually loves to speak in poetry/rap, but it’s hard when he doesn’t talk like everyone else. Thankfully, this week was different: “Once he’s here, he could talk freely and tell the poems, and people are just listening.”
So much happens during the week of speech therapy camp. For the parents, they gain community just by the nature of them having children with the same condition. For the children, they come to a place where they can feel less judged. They’re not alone. Their friends are like them. And they’re encouraged by their own progress. And for the therapists, they have the chance to watch the transformation happen before their eyes! We’re grateful for the camps that have already happened, and look forward to many more in the future!
© 2026 CURE International
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