The parents of a baby girl born with an usually large black birthmark across her face are seeking donations for surgery to remove the scar.
The baby’s parents are from the island of Meedhoo in Dhaalu Atoll in the Maldives.
The father of the baby said doctors had advised him to go abroad to seek further medical assistance as there was little they could do to help in the Maldives.
“Doctors advised me to go for a plastic surgery,” wrote Ahmed Shareef on Facebook, posting a picture of his newborn.
“But plastic surgery is not available here in Maldives. And it costs a huge amount. Please help me in anyway you can if it is possible. Even I will appreciate your good prayers too,” he adds.
The picture has gone viral across Maldivian social media since it was posted on Thursday, and has been shared by over 5000 users. The local community – both online and offline – are rallying to raise money to help the girl.
Speaking to Minivan News on Sunday, Shareef said he had been in touch with doctors from abroad who had given a preliminary diagnosis of Congenital Nevomelanocytic Nevus (CNN).
A nevus – the medical term for a birthmark – larger than 20 centimetres in diameter only occurs once in every half a million newborns. This is the first such case reported in Maldives, which has a population of around 350,000 people.
The scar went undetected during ultra sound scans throughout the pregnancy, Shareef explained.
Although the scar is believed to be benign, there is risk of it further spreading across the baby’s face and causing complications as serious as cancer, according to the family.
“There is a chance of the scar spreading. Or even it may become cancerous. So most of the doctors are saying go for surgery,” Shareef explained.
The young couple, who also have a four-year old son, say they are extremely worried about their daughter’s future.
“Just imagine how can a girl will live here with that. Think about her future,” he said. “The only way I can help my baby is to take her abroad, consult a specialist and do the surgery. But my wife and I cannot afford the travel and costs of the treatment. Please help me,” he begged.
Shareef is a primary school teacher while his wife is a clerk at the island council office, earning less than US$800 a month between them.
Shareef said his wife also had a heart condition requiring prescriptions and regular check ups.
“Despite all this, my wife is very strong. I am doing everything I can to help my wife and daughter,” Shareef said, thanking the public for its generous support so far.
While Shareef is struggling to raise money, little support is available from the state as the national health insurance scheme does not cover expenses for plastic surgery.
The Maldives has a culture of families and friends helping to raise funds for medical treatment to save loved ones, increasingly through social media.
Recently, a young woman launched a search for a Maldivian donor for her husband whose kidneys had both failed. She recently announced that two matching donors had been found.
Similarly, parents of a child born with cleft lip and palate ran a successful campaign called “Help Lisa Smile”. The family raised money through T-shirt sales, in addition to generous donations, and the operation was successful.
For more information on this story contact Ahmed Shareef on Facebook
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I bet the local kuffars will now come and blame religion for this even though it has nothing to do with the story, without even realizing that these kind of deformities are God's punishment to an irreligious society. The kuffars are mad. Truly Muslims are the most opressed people on the planet.
why don't we stop talking about religion in this case .........just do something called helping people to live life, donate money ...try to help out this little angel and do not argue or use this as a religion matter.
if you really want to do something useful use the concept of charity to help her and if this has to be linked with religion it is the best way to start Ramadan...isn't it?
Poor girl and her family.
Religion has nothing to do with this, if God would punish society, all of us Maldivians would be deformed.
Let's just help the baby and her family
@lola
I didn't comment on this story.
some kuffar using my alias now.
see how cynical and heartless these kuffar brutes are!
What are congenital anomalies in the Islamist's book? Punishment or test? Punishing a baby is cruel and testing its parents shows that the Islamist God has no power to test people without making others suffer. What a dilemma.
The funny thing is Islamists are against plucking eyebrows or filing teeth but would allow this baby to have a cosmetic alteration. Gender reassignment surgery can be allowed on the same basis. At least Ayatollah Khomeini had the sense to allow it.
So CNN is really a virus
Very aptly named indeed
This is breaking news
Can minivan add an option for "like" / "dislike" button on comments?
This child is a proof that God does not exist. Or this God must be the most evil thing anyone can imagine. What is the sin of such innocent soul to suffer like this if it was an act of God?
However we as science believers don’t blame a god or anyone for such mischievousness, we call it random mutation of cell to cause such abnormalities during human development in the womb. It is an accident and anyone who can help the parents to overcome this tragedy through science they should lend their hands. Prayers won’t help the only help is science and money. We want see the dawning light of reasons and science on tiny dots and its people so they can enjoy the life without psychological trauma due to fear of God and his curse. If you think deep and see so many unfortunate suffering of human being like this child, we see no reason to believe in a god. Why would any god with a bit of sense enjoy from the suffering of his creation, it seems this God is a sadist, any on one who believe such god must also be sadists.
Poor girl bless her. I hope she stays well clinically.
@fisherman kaafir, your comment ONLY reveals ur are too ignorant to undesrdand the role of faith in science. Limited thinking that really does not deserve a response
what kind of medical condition is this? Is there anyone who would give an explanation about this condition?
Islamic theology never tells the believers that every medical phenomenon, everything that happens within and around the laws of physics is directly monitored and controlled by Allah. The birth defect of the baby hypothetically is not a proof either god exists or not exists. There is no relationship with laws of physics and religious blesses, ratioally speaking and here there is no room for Fisherman Kifiru to accuse the faith of Islam to prove the non existence of God.
@fisherman kaafiru,
You cant prove scientifically that god doesn't exist? We cant prove scientifically that god even exists!
God only exists for people who got faith. If you dont have faith, you dont have god.
This is very simple.
Gonda on Mon, 24th Jun 2013 5:28 PM
It depends what you mean by god, If you are talking about a personal God that most of religious people believe, that God does not exist and it is scientifically proved, the child itself is a proof that there is no merciful kind and just God. What justification this God has to justify this action if he has done it.
If you mean by God , the phenomenon that set laws of physics in motion, it may be true that science or religion cannot explain where this phenomenon came to exist.
God knows what is best for the child. The God says he would be merciful and compassionate to everyone. God says there will be a day of justice and justice will be served for people who suffered injustice of any sort at the hands of tyrants or fall victim to medical diseases. The God would reward this baby unimaginable bounties on the day of judgement and this baby is a proof of god, proof that Qalha Qadar is working autonomously as God has decided.
What a beautiful, pretty, precious baby. I don't believe a shade of a darker color can make a person unattractive. I had a crush on a girl with a huge birth mark on her face, I was about sixteen. She could not accept that I thought she was beautiful, because she did not believe herself to be beautiful. In some societies the people scar the hell out of themselves to make themselves beautiful.
Bless Her lord, Please, help the family be successful in getting finances to get treatment for her, as even though she is More than beautiful to You Lord, humans are so cruel, vein, shallow and BLIND. They do not see as you see, Lord, and as You are the Merciful, the Protector of the Oppressed, Please Shelter this beautiful Child in YOUR Mercy.