Libinton: The Brave Little One with the Heart of a Warrior

This is the story of brave Libinton, a 4-year-old boy, and his heroic father Bernardino, a man from the Embera Dobida indigenous community who has lived since ancestral times on the banks of the Bebarama River in the Remolino sector. It is a majestic place in the jungles of Bajo Atrato in the department of Chocó: a tropical, difficult-to-access area where the only means of sustenance are hunting, fishing, and banana farming, and where the tranquility of indigenous life is regularly interrupted by the armed conflict raging in the region.

It all started when Bernardino took Libinton to a routine early childhood check-up at the Remolino health center. While examining the boy, the doctor told Bernardino about the 100 Smiles program and what it could mean for Libinton, who was born with a cleft palate and cleft lip. She invited him to enroll, and without hesitation, he accepted.

They prepared for several weeks. Each day began at sunrise: Bernardino took his tools to the fields to sow, tend the plants, and harvest. In the afternoons he returned home with fish and bunches of bananas, stopping to watch Libinton playing with his little brothers at the water pipe along the way. He sold his harvest to local merchants to raise money for the journey and to leave enough behind for his wife and two other children.

On July 5th, the odyssey began. Bernardino and Libinton woke at sunrise, packed a backpack, and dressed in clothes unfamiliar to their culture: a shirt and pants. Bernardino said a prayer, said goodbye to his family, and they set off by boat down the river. At 45 years old, Bernardino had never traveled beyond the Atrato. Neither had his son.

Just two hours into their journey, armed men on the riverbank identifying themselves as FARC stopped their boat. Seeing Bernardino dressed in street clothes with a backpack, they suspected he might be a military informant. Bernardino told them plainly that he was taking his son to the hospital in Quibdó for the first time. With some good fortune, they were allowed to continue.

The relief was short-lived. At the mouth of the Atrato, the Gulf Clan had set up an illegal checkpoint. They made Bernardino and Libinton disembark, searched the backpack, and accused Bernardino of carrying drug money or weapons. When they found nothing, they grew angrier and accused him of belonging to a rival armed group. They tied him to a tree with rope.

For a couple of hours, father and son remained in that situation. Libinton’s crying was agonizing, but Bernardino held onto his faith that they would make it through. Then a boat arrived. A commander stepped off and ordered Bernardino freed immediately: an attack was coming and they needed to move. Just like that, they were released. Bernardino boarded the boat, held his son close, and pushed forward toward Quibdó. Minutes later, the sounds of gunfire and explosions broke out behind them. He accelerated, and little by little, mile by mile, the sounds of combat faded.

When they arrived in Quibdó, a government representative was waiting to take them to the airport for their flight to Medellín: a new experience for both of them, and a world away from the danger they had left behind.

The next morning, Rotaplast volunteers welcomed them at the hospital. The surgical team evaluated Libinton and determined he was a good candidate for two procedures: palate reconstruction and cleft lip repair. The surgeries were scheduled for Saturday, July 12th. In the days leading up to the operation, Bernardino cared for his son at the shelter, spent time with other families, and called home to share updates.

The surgeries were a success. The results can be seen on the father’s face in the photograph: pure joy.

This story is an example of a father’s unconditional love for his son. Thank you, Bernardino, for trusting Rotaplast with your greatest treasure, Libinton.

Surgery performed by Dr. Jorge Iván Cardona, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (Colombia). Dr. Cardona holds a fellowship in Orthognathic Surgery and Cleft Lip and Palate repair from CHU Nantes, France. He has been in private practice since 1995 and serves as a surgeon at Santa Monica Hospital in Dosquebradas, Risaralda, Colombia. He is the founder of the Sonrie Foundation, dedicated to cleft lip and palate care in the city of Pereira.