What Steven Gerrard and Mia Hamm have in common

SPORTSPERSONS such as footballers, figure skaters or baseball players all need to be quick on their feet and move with speed and precision. In sports, the feet are one of the most important parts of the body and injuries often render athletes unable to play. But there are sportspersons like Mia Hamm, Steven Gerrard, Kristi Yamaguchi and even Roman Emperor Claudius who were born with a birth defect that causes their feet to turn inward and makes it difficult to walk, let alone play sports. This birth defect is called clubfoot and is one of the most significant birth defects in children in India. If clubfoot is not treated at birth, that child will grow up to be permanently disabled and will not be able to walk. 

 

The good news is that clubfoot is 100% treatable and curable, but time is of the essence when it comes to treatment. Since clubfoot is noticed as soon as a baby is born, it is imperative that the child receive treatment as soon as possible. If this is done, the birth defect can be corrected and the child can go on to have a normal life. This is what Kunal Premnarayen’s parents did. Kunal Premnarayen was born with clubfoot but was cured after he was treated as a child and then went on to become a professional tennis player, playing for his university in the United States. When he grew up, Kunal and his parents founded Anushkaa Foundation, an NGO that has cured more than 18,000 clubfoot children in India.

 

What does Anushkaa Foundation do?

Anushkaa Foundation helps families across India whose children are born with clubfoot but have no idea that it is treatable. In rural India, there are families who take one look at their newborn babies’ feet and assume that this is a permanent disability. Because of this assumption, these parents often lock up these babies in their homes, refuse to educate them and in some cases even abandon or murder them. As a person who was born with clubfoot, this troubled Kunal Premnarayen so he worked with his parents to set up more than 160 clubfoot clinics across India where families could bring their children to get treatment – for free. Once treated, the children’s deformities are corrected and they are on the path to normal lives. 

 

How the organization treats clubfoot children

The organization’s team of medical professionals are at Anushkaa Foundation’s 162 clinics and speak to worried parents who bring in their children with clubfoot. These parents are dejected and in desperate need of help but once the clinic’s staff members explain that clubfoot is curable if treated in time, the treatment begins. The NGO uses the Ponseti Method, which is the method that was used to treat Kunal Premnarayen back in 1977. The Ponseti Method uses Plaster of Paris around the child’s feet and legs for a 4 to 8 week period after which a minor procedure called a tenotomy is performed and then the child uses leg braces for a specific time until the child’s bone growth occurs in a normal pattern. 

 

But it is important to teach people about clubfoot

The fact that clubfoot is treatable is a light at the end of the tunnel. But this is good news only to those parents who are aware that what their children have is clubfoot. For many parents living in remote areas, there is no access to hospitals or medical professionals or anyone to tell them that their child has a birth defect that is curable. Anushkaa Foundation believes that the key to reducing the number of clubfoot-related disabilities is to raise awareness across India about clubfoot. The organization travels throughout rural India to speak to local communities about clubfoot using aids such as posters to inform people that this birth defect is indeed curable and that their clinics provide free treatment. 

 

Investing in parents and local communities

Anushkaa Foundation’s main focus is treating children with clubfoot but their work goes beyond medical treatment. The NGO has trained more than 300 doctors in the Ponseti Method and supplies its 162 clubfoot clinics with materials such as Plaster of Paris, soft rolls and leg braces that the doctors will use for the entire duration of the treatment. The organization has also trained over 180,000 ASHA workers who are well connected with children and their families to raise awareness about clubfoot and help families that needed medical assistance. Important to Anushkaa Foundation’s outreach is the personal support the NGO provides to parents in the form of counseling either at their homes, at the clinics or on phone calls. 

 

Help eradicate clubfoot in India

The treatable condition called clubfoot does not have to render a child unable to walk, run, jump and live full and complete lives. If parents across India are aware of this, then their children can be treated and saved from living their lives as an individual with disabilities. Anushkaa Foundation works toward eradicating clubfoot in India and is also working on innovation in this area. Hoping to create a low-cost leg brace for clubfoot children, the NGO is dedicated to reaching out to more children in rural India and providing free treatment to make sure their lives are not affected by this treatable condition. Each donation to this campaign will help the organization accomplish this. To support Anushkaa Foundation:

 

Support Anushkaa Foundation

 

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