Running For Cleft: Inaugural SQF Marathon Demystifies Clefts in Tanzania

SQF Marathon runners pose with medals

On a cold, drizzly morning in mid-September, 300+ amateur and professional athletes, surgeons, nurses, and provincial leaders gathered at Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium, in the heart of Arusha, Tanzania. The group didn’t let the bad weather dampen their excitement for the start of Premier Same Qualities Foundation (SQF) Marathon — an event courtesy of Smile Train Africa, meant to raise awareness and demystify cleft lip and palate.

The runners stretched and jogged in-place until the starting gun sounded. With unity of purpose, they spilled into the streets with the message that free cleft surgeries would be carried out at the Haydom Lutheran Hospital (250 kilometers south of Arusha) the week following.

The next week, the SQF runners had done their job and patients and their families poured into Haydom Hospital. They were greeted by SQF Managing Director Dr. Peter Mabula, cleft surgeon Dr. Samo Hayte, and Smile Train staff.

Christine holds her child before cleft surgery

Smile Train’s team met Christine and her son Petro, who had been referred from Mbulu Hospital, 70 kilometers away. Christine was quiet and shy. She explained that she’d been blamed for Petro’s cleft lip by her neighbors who claimed that she must have walked through a forbidden forest or ate a warthog. As if the psychological distress wasn’t enough, Christine’s husband rejected them, forcing her to seek solace at the hospital.

When Dr. Hayte met Christine, he advised that Petro continue to receive free nutrition rehabilitation made possible by the Tanzania government. The rehabilitation and monitoring would prepare Petro for his Smile Train-sponsored cleft surgery. Christine’s face lit up as hope restored her drained spirit.

Smile Train patient Timoteo before and after cleft lip surgery

During cleft week, 13 children received cleft repair — including Timoteo, whose mother shared that she’d faced similar stories of cleft stigma as Christine. Dr. Mabula noted that the social stigma is a major barrier for patients in Tanzania seeking cleft treatment but awareness events like SQF Marathon were essential in changing the hearts and minds of the local people.

“Because of the terrain in Tanzania, many patients travel hundreds of kilometers to access quality healthcare. Our partnership with Smile Train and being able to raise awareness through marathons have been some of the most effective ways of reaching patients in the remotest of villages,” said Dr. Mabula.

SQF, which has been in existence for 5 years has been supporting Smile Train Africa in Tanzania in raising awareness and providing free cleft lip and palate surgery to patients unable to afford the same.