When early detection and referral systems work, they prevent cases of untreated clubfoot. We’re happy to share a success story from Tanzania that shows how commitment to training and awareness-building can help solve the problem of clubfoot disability worldwide.

Geradius, now one year old, was born at Bugando Hospital in Mwanza, a city in the Lake Zone of Tanzania. The nurse who cared for Geradius and his mother immediately recognized that the child had bilateral clubfoot and knew to refer the baby to treatment. Fortunately, the hospital is also home to a MiracleFeet-supported clubfoot clinic and Geradius was able to start treatment when he was only a week old.

In addition to being enrolled in treatment at a young age, the hospital was also relatively close to where Geradius and his family live. Since it was a thirty-minute walk to get to weekly clinic appointments, receiving clubfoot treatment did not place an undue strain on little Geradius’s mother.

Geradius successfully completed the early part of treatment and is now in the eighth month of bracing. He is able to come in for regular check-ups, where the team at Bugando makes sure he is wearing the brace as prescribed. The team at the clinic can also offer support and encouragement to his mother during the next several years of bracing. “I am so grateful for MiracleFeet because otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to afford the treatment costs, such as the cost of casts each week,” said Geradius’s mother.

Geradius’s mother dreams he will grow up to be an engineer and is thrilled to see the change in her son’s feet. “I am so happy with the treatment because I never thought that his feet would be able to be so fully corrected as they are now.”

Read more stories from Tanzania.