Ahmed

Ahmed Kader lives in a remote village outside Agadez, in the north of Niger. No one in his family had ever seen clubfoot before he was born. Born with severe bilateral clubfoot, his parents, relatives, and villagers were all convinced he was a demon. They rejected him, and even considered throwing him in the river.

When Ahmed was eight months old, his uncle, living in the capital Niamey, heard of the treatment available through the CURE Niger Clubfoot Program. Despite the offer of assistance from his uncle, Ahmed’s mother, Adama Mahamadou, was reluctant to take the long and time-consuming journey for the sake of a “demon” child. Eventually persuaded by his uncle, they did make the journey to Niamey.

For the first few weeks, it took a lot of encouragement and education by the clinic counselor for Ahmed’s mother to start to believe the treatment could in fact work. Only after the second cast came off did she start to listen and properly follow the counselor’s directions. Now that Ahmed’s feet have been corrected and he is wearing braces, Adama can’t wait to get back to the village and show her child to her relatives and community.