Learning about cleft conditions with clumsy cutlery

Charitable organisation Smile Asia, along with McCann Health Singapore, created a new set of cutlery called “The Cleft Collection”. It’s a simple set consisting of fork, knife and spoon; though using them is no simple task, which is the point.

Cleft lip and cleft palate are openings or splits in the upper lip, the roof of the mouth (palate) or both. Scarily they are among the most common birth defects; every year, over 100,000 children in Asia are born with cleft conditions.

The Cleft Collection has been deliberately designed to make eating a challenge. The idea behind it is to “allow you and I to experience the struggles children with cleft lip and palate face at every meal,” according to Vincent Yeow, chairman and founder of Smile Asia. “We hope that with this initiative, we will be able to get more people to support the cause of helping children across Asia living with these conditions.”

The Cleft Collection was first unveiled at a dinner event at the Ritz-Carlton Singapore, where unknowing guests were made to eat a four-course dinner with the collection, experiencing a small taste of the frustration children with the condition have to deal with at every meal. 

Though Ad Nut normally eats its nuts without cutlery, the demonstration is nonetheless effective at creating empathy. Ad Nut admires the effort on behalf of a worthy charity and feels for the humans who suffer from cleft conditions.

CREDITS

McCann Health Singapore
Alejandro Canciobello – Creative Director
Rodrigo Mitma – Associate Creative Director
Yuan Ling Tan – Jr. Art Director
Emily Mok – Jr. Art Director
Mellisa Go – Copywriter
Kirby Ho – Producer
Nicole Lade – General Manager

Smile Asia
Abhimanyu Talukdar – Secretary-General
Phoebe Low – Manager, Programme

The Ritz-Carlton
Mark Fletcher – Director of Human Resources
Massimo Pasquarelli – Executive Chef
Lewis Quinn – Director of Food and Beverage
Ken Fong – Banquet Operations Manager
Nathalyn Fong – Director of Public Relations and Marketing Communications.

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