Mohammed, aged 14

A naturally upbeat young man, Mohammed was keen to have his bilateral (double) cleft lip and palate corrected.

Treated under local anaesthetic, Dr Peter Ayliffe took under two hours to repair the lip – a noticeable disfigurement that up to now had caused passersby to stop and stare.

In 2004, Project Harar Ethiopia organised speech and language therapy and a secondary operation to repair the roof of his mouth, enabling him to speak without difficulty. Mohammed wants to return to school and is learning a trade.