OPERATION FJIR
Child Medical Mission
Mosul, Iraq
Meet Fjir, Arabic for sunrise. She’s a 6-year-old with a sunny disposition, despite her painful condition. Fjir suffers from a cleft palate at birth, a gaping hole in the roof of her mouth that continued to deteriorate because her family could not afford the cost of the surgery, like so many others in war-torn Mosul, Iraq.
The condition impacted both her speech and hearing, and lead to a dysfunction of the Velopharyngeal, a valve which functions to separate the nasal and oral cavities during speech and swallowing. Fjir’s speech and mental health were impacted, and now she was at-risk of losing her hearing.
Veterans Rebuilding Life, Without Borders, and the Iraqi Institution for Development collaborated to raise the total cost of her surgery. Fjir recovered quickly after the life-changing procedure which cost under one thousand dollars. We look forward to seeing you blow out your birthday candles Fjir!