Lions Club to hold harelip surgery

JAKARTA (JP): As many as 200 people with harelip in the city will receive free surgery through funds raised from registration fees of a one-day fun walk organized by the Jakarta Lions Club.

Surgery will be carried out on the same day as the fun walk on Sunday, said Benny Tedjasendjaja of the club.

According to Benny, surgery costs Rp 250,000 (US$84) per patient while the fun walk registration fee is Rp 10,000 per family.

"Therefore, the more people who participate in the fun walk, the more harelip patients we can handle," he said.

While fun walk participants stroll from Monas through National Monument Park to Jl. Thamrin and back again, "our brothers will be operated on at the Mitra Oasis health clinic in Central Jakarta," Benny said.

Early in April, the Lions Club held a similar free service for 66 people in Cibadak, West Java.

"It's a duty for all of us because most parents are ashamed to show their children who have harelip and keep them away from public view," Benny said.

To find harelip patients, the Lions Club has cooperated with district military commands and local government clinics to compile a list of names, he said.

But Benny did not disclose whether the club would be able to attract 5,000 families to participate in the fun walk in order to meet the target of 200 patients. (04)