Caritas and Tatien: A Valentine’s Day Story about Cleft Treatment
In Burundi, love outlasted stigma, and a cleft lip surgery opened a new chapter in Caritas’s life.
Caritas learned to stay out of sight
When Caritas was growing up in her small, remote village in Burundi, other children, and even many adults, ridiculed her for dreaming big.
She was one of eight and always aspired to have a large family of her own someday, too. But she had a cleft. No one could imagine anyone wanting to marry her.
"Both children and adults would mock me”, she remembered. “Children used to run away or cry whenever they saw me".
She spent a lot of time on the most distant reaches of her family’s farm, tilling the land far from her neighbours’ stares and snide remarks.
A love story that outlasted stigma
Years later, a new face arrived in her village: Tatien.
Instead of avoiding Caritas, he chose to talk with her, eat with her, spend time with her.
He heard the whispers. He faced the shouted abuse. And he didn’t care.
Before long, Tatien asked Caritas to marry him.
“Everyone thought I had lost my mind”, Tatien said. “They kept asking me why I would want to marry someone with a cleft… but to me, she was the kindest person I knew. Her cleft never bothered me”.
After meeting the man who would become her husband, Caritas’s other dreams began to take shape. She is now the proud mother of six children.
And every time people spread rumours about what their next child might look like, Caritas and Tatien gave the same answer: they would love their baby no matter what.
As it happened, none of her children had a cleft; all were born healthy.
The radio announcement that changed everything
When Caritas was 39, she heard something on the radio that sounded impossible: a hospital in Bujumbura, Burundi’s largest city, offered free cleft surgeries through a partnership with Smile Train.
Caritas was sceptical. It sounded too good to be true.
Still, she left her village for the first time and travelled to the big city — because she knew she also couldn’t afford not to learn more.
Once in Bujumbura, she found Clinique Prince Louis Rwagasore, where she was met with open arms and warm smiles. Her doubts began to ease.
Her cleft lip surgery was performed by Sister Dr Liliana Najjuka, and it was a success.
Three days later, Caritas returned to her village. Everything was familiar, but nothing felt the same. She was ready for what came next.
“I feel like I’ve been reborn. It’s like I’m starting a whole new chapter in my life!”
Why your donation matters
Caritas’s cleft surgery didn’t happen by magic. It happened because support from people like you helped equip local medical teams with the training, funding, and ongoing support they needed to provide safe cleft care in Burundi.
Your donation to Smile Train will help make sure more people in 75+ countries can access:
- Cleft treatment from qualified local providers
- Safe surgery and other essential cleft care
- Sustainable programmes that keep cleft care available year after year, no matter what
This Valentine’s Day, donate to help fund cleft lip and palate care so no one else has to wait 39 years for the treatment they need.