The Week in Photos: Celebrating World Clubfoot Day

n spite of the many trials that children with clubfoot go through, Christine still manages to smile. Here’s a toast to all the heroes that have managed to beat clubfoot and still come out smiling.

“Whenever I look at Chebo now, I see how awesome God is,” said one of Chebo’s caregivers, “when we first approached his parents and asked them if we could bring him here for surgery, they were adamant. They thought it would just make things worse and confine him to a wheelchair because according to them, he was beyond any form of ‘repair’ and they had accepted it. But he was confident that things would work, and now, a year later, he is able to look at his feet and praise God. These are the same feet that he was ashamed of and now, they are the same feet that take him to school. He is in his 5th grade. Take a look at how the only evidence of clubfoot is the scars the operations left. This is truly a miracle!

“I passed my Grade 9 exams with flying colors like I told you I would, so I am going to high school now! I have also learned to stand up for myself and I won’t let the other kids take advantage of me because of my disability (Clubfoot)”

In spite of the many trials that children with clubfoot go through, Christine still manages to smile. Here’s a toast to all the heroes that have managed to beat clubfoot and still come out smiling.

Abigail lays on her bed with packets of gauze to go home with.

Sharon sleeps on her bed in the ward.

Dr. Justin puts a blood sample in a vial.

Dr. Micheal and Annet touch the top of her son Aaron’s head. Dr. Micheal was showing her that her child didn’t have pressure on his brain.

Volunteers from HELP International watch an ETV/CPC from the observation room.

Mary sits in her chair on the pathway between the ward and ICU.

Baby Sifa enjoying a kiss from her grandma.

John, a clubfoot patient, and his mum sharing a cute moment joking about where John is feeling a bit of pain.

Jane was born with clubfoot, but with the help of casting and braces, look how good she’s standing!

Because sometimes when you’re small like Sifa, one of our castable clubfoot babies, and you’re getting your casts off, you need someone to hold your blanket so you don’t have to watch.

One of our photographers, Elvis, and Sifa share a moment together, enjoying the sunshine. Right around this time, they were reenacting a scene from “The Lion King.”

While castable clubfoot baby Agnes waits to be seen by a physical therapist, she snacks on some yogurt and it gives her a yogurt ‘stache.

Agnes gets her first set of braces put on as part of her clubfoot correction process.

“Ten little fingers, ten tiny toes, the sweetest of smiles, and a cute little nose. All these add up to a very special thing — a baby. The greatest of gifts that life can bring.” Unknown

After getting her casts off, Sifa gets a bit of pampering from her grandma in the form of a toenail clipping.

CKC Funny has a quick chat with Brenda and baby Diyana as they wait for a cast change!

Faith is already charming us with her adorable little knitted hat and too-big sweater, which are the colors of the local soccer team! Apparently, already a sports enthusiast, she’s here at CURE to have ponseti for her clubfoot!

Omali and his dad traveled all the way from Mozambique to have treatment for his clubfoot!

The Clubfoot Team here at CURE Malawi includes Chimwemwe, Tawina, Steven and Dr. Sam! They’re all doing a great job keeping the clubfoot program here in Malawi running smoothly!

The Clubfoot Team is in charge of the Malawi National Clubfoot Program. They insisted on having a “creative” photoshoot for their group picture and ended up goofing off in the plaster room!

Mommy Anne and Fatima are here at CURE Malawi to have ponseti done for her clubfoot!

Maria and her granny Katalina traveled all the way from Mozambique to have treatment for her clubfoot and syndactly! Maria was born with a condition known as Amniotic Band Syndrome, where bands in the womb wrap around parts of the body – in her case the legs and hands – and constrict the growth. This caused her left foot to start to club! Although, it’s very atypical and not technically “clubfoot” we treated it with ponseti!

Anne has brought Fatima from very far away to get treatment for her clubfoot!

Imassane practices walking with her walker and the new cage on her clubfoot.

Dr. Negrini operates on a particularly difficult, neglected clubfoot case.

Youmali gets some instruction on how to use his new crutches after receiving his first of several clubfoot surgeries.

Chaibou is pretty excited after receiving his first clubfoot surgery.

Djamila watches as she gets her old cast off in order to start on the next step of her clubfoot treatment.

Nurse Ralp covers Sophia’s feet with iodine to get her ready for clubfoot surgery.

Dr. Jun worked on one foot and Dr. Shelley worked on the other. A few hours later, Sophia is clubfoot free!

Maricar’s grin shows her excitement about getting her foot fixed!

Speaking of clubfoot, did you know that there’s also a disability called a clubbed hand? And thankfully, it’s also on the list of disabilities that we can treat!

As Cristan’s clubfeet are prepared for surgery, Nurse Chris can’t help but smile knowing that in just an hour, Cristan’s life will change for the better.

Just a few days after surgery, a cast change reveals how improved Cristan’s clubfeet already are!

Her sore feet are elevated on a stack of pillows, but Maricar finds some rest the day after having surgery to correct her clubfeet.

We love seeing babies at our clinics! Khazer visited us for the first time at only two weeks old, and because of that, he’ll never remember having clubfeet.

In D-Boy’s case, healing is a family affair! His parents have been by his side every step of the way as he works toward being clubfoot free.