Surgery for Children with Disabilities in Nepal

Clubfoot is a widespread problem in Nepal that often goes untreated and causes a lot of suffering. Surgery used to be the only option, but the Ponseti method, a non-invasive treatment that gradually realigns the feet with progressive plaster casts, is much easier on the children. HRDC has pioneered the technique across Nepal, and today uses it to treat children at all five of their satellite clinics.

Birmala is from a very poor family in the village of Devisthan, a two-day journey from HRDC. Her family depends on farming, but it only covers their expenses for less than half the year. To make up the difference, Birmala’s father has to travel to India to work as a day laborer and send a little money home.

Shortly after Birmala was born, her family realized that she had a problem with her feet and became worried—but they didn’t have the means to get her the treatment she needed.

Fast forward a few years: HRDC’s Regional Office, coordinating with a local youth group, discovered this forlorn young girl with severe bi-lateral clubfoot who could only walk with a stick and referred her to the main hospital in Banepa.

Birmala stayed at HRDC for six months on and off.  Though she was found too late for Ponseti, she received thorough diagnostics, two corrective surgeries, and comprehensive follow-up care. She recovered quickly, and was sent back home with a plaster cast on her leg. The care continued at home with visits and her own special shoes, made at HRDC and brought to her by a field worker.

Birmala, who was quiet and introverted, has since transformed into a happy and extroverted girl. She is now in grade 7, praised by her teachers for noticeable improvement in her studies, and has no need for a stick to get around. Her family is very grateful, telling neighbors how, thanks to HRDC, she has gained a new life.