She was bullied because of her cleft lip, now she helps others like herself

Datin Nora seeks to motivate and inspire adults with CLP and mothers of CLP children to fulfill their destiny in life despite looking 'different'. Photo: Datin Nora Abu Hassan

Going through life with a cleft lip and palate has not only made Datin Nora Abu Hassan stronger and more compassionate, but it has also enabled her to help others who have the same condition as well as their families.

“When I started going to primary school at the age of seven, I realised that I was ‘different’ because the other kids called me names and treated me ‘differently’,” says Nora, who is now 57, and mother to three grown-up children as well as grandmother to a three-year-old boy.