Comprehensive Cleft Lip and Palate Program

In Peru, one in every 1,000 children is born with a cleft lip and/or palate. This condition goes far beyond aesthetics—it affects nutrition, speech, hearing, and emotional well-being. Surgery alone isn’t enough. It takes a multidisciplinary team of health professionals to address the full range of challenges these children face.

Since 1995, our organization has offered a comprehensive multidisciplinary program for children with cleft lip and palate (CLP), especially those living in poverty in the San Martín region. Our care model includes surgical, physical, psychological, social, and aesthetic rehabilitation, serving families in San Martín and neighboring regions like Amazonas and Cajamarca.

Since our inception, we have performed more than 1,100 surgeries for children with cleft lip and palate. Around 600 of those children are from the San Martín region, with others coming from Amazonas and Cajamarca.
Each year, we organize one or two surgical campaigns where children receive free operations. In addition to surgery, we provide care in nutrition, ENT, dentistry and orthodontics, speech therapy, psychological support, and music therapy.

We have also partnered with our Transformative Music Program to offer music classes to all children who have undergone surgery. This helps foster social inclusion and builds bridges between children with and without cleft lip and palate (CLP) through the healing power of music.

Through this multidisciplinary program, we support the full development of children with CLP. We believe that with proper, comprehensive care, these children can grow and thrive just like any other child.