Steps Clubfoot Care
STEPS Clubfoot Care is a non-profit support organisation that improves the lives of children born with clubfoot in southern and east Africa. The organisation works with partners, donors, doctors and parents towards a clear vision of a sustainable and effective solution to the disability caused by untreated clubfoot. Their four-pillar impact model provides a clear pathway of patient-centred clubfoot support and care:
Training Health professionals
Clubfoot Clinic Support
Clubfoot Advocacy
Clubfoot Braces
This dedicated team works tirelessly to improve the lives of children born with clubfoot and to remove clubfoot as a source of disability. They strive to ensure that every child born with clubfoot in southern Africa has access to early and effective treatment and care by a provider trained in the Ponseti Method at a dedicated and well-equipped clubfoot clinic
The story of STEPS started in 2003 with the birth of a boy with clubfoot here in South Africa. After her son’s successful treatment by Dr Ponseti in Iowa, founder Karen Moss returned home and told the story to local doctors. Karen founded STEPS in July 2005 to introduce and promote the Ponseti Method of clubfoot treatment in southern Africa and support families going through treatment. Just a year later in July 2006, Karen organised a pioneering medical seminar, the first in southern Africa, to introduce the Ponseti method for clubfoot to Paediatric Orthopaedic surgeons. Since then she has organised Ponseti training for over 600 medical professionals in four countries: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and the Seychelles. Karen’s groundbreaking work has revolutionised the medical outlook for clubfoot care. As a direct result of Karen’s work in introducing the Ponseti method for clubfoot to southern Africa, the number of babies successfully treated is now in the thousands
The Ponseti Method is now part of the South African medical school curriculum for doctors. It is the gold-standard of treatment for clubfoot in South Africa, having been officially endorsed by South African Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (SAPOS) in 2012 as best practice. STEPS partners with SAPOS on all their training workshops and the STEPS medical director is a Ponseti faculty trainer.
As STEPS grew their scope of work in South Africa, they gained recognition as an innovative and sustainable organisation, as their many accolades prove: in 2017, STEPS won Gold in the Impumelelo Social Innovation Awards and in 2018 won second prize and audience choice award in the SAB Foundation Social Enterprise Impact awards.
They mentor and support many African clubfoot treatment providers, supporting and partnering with 38 clubfoot clinics in the South African state health sector.
STEPS truly does important and impactful work that has inspired and uplifted thousands of children and their families. I highly encourage you to look into and possibly support this worthy cause.
https://steps.org.za/home/