In India, 150 children are born with clubfoot every day. Often mistaken as polio, it is one of most common birth deformity in the world. The twisted foot or tedha pair, as it is generally called, makes the child unable to place the sole of the foot flat on the ground. Left untreated, it can lead to a lifetime of deformity. India registers almost 50,000 cases of clubfoot children every year.
Just a few hours after birth, Jonah’s family abandoned him.
Jonah’s battle for his life started in his mother’s womb. His family is from a remote village in Nagaland. They exhausted all their savings, preparing for his birth. When he was born, his family was shocked at his clubfoot. Being an uneducated family, they looked upon this deformity with fear and suspicion. Within a week, the biological parents gave him away to the Social Welfare Agency in their district. Only a few days in the world and Jonah had already been rejected by his own parents.
Jonah was brought to Wondang-ki Orphanage Home and Adoption Centre in Nagaland. It is in this orphanage that Jonah received much more love and care. The orphanage staff started Jonah’s treatment at a private hospital despite knowing little about clubfoot. Eventually they got in touch with CURE International India and one-month-old Jonah was enrolled for treatment. A couple soon adopted him and he has a new home and the care of a loving family. They have given him a new name – Ayitsho Jonah Sono.
There are many others in India, who endure a lifetime of deformity unaware that there is a non-surgical cure. Santosh George, Director, CURE International India says, “Clubfoot is not a poor man or a rich man’s disease. It is a birth defect and it can happen to anybody. Earlier, when clubfoot didn’t have a cure, the rich would get it surgically operated. But today, treatment is readily available at very less cost.”
Source By : https://milaap.org/
