FY24 Q1 Impact report Hope Walks served 8,960 children in the first quarter of this new fiscal year, of whom 2,153 were newly enrolled in treatment, a 16% increase compared to the first quarter of last year. In total, our partner sites had 23,238 clinic visits. We celebrate witnessing 1,527 children receive their first brace, which means their feet have been corrected.
Program Highlights In reflection upon FY23, our teams have crafted a set of priorities in which we will invest our energy throughout the year: enhance the quality of care we provide to children and families, extend the reach of our efforts, and pursue
partnerships for advocacy and collaboration. In FY24, we plan to open 17 clinics across seven countries where we operate to extend the reach of our programs by creating more access points for care. During the first quarter, we made significant progress on this goal, opening six clinics in Ethiopia, four clinics in Malawi and one in Haiti. Plans are in the works to open additional clinics in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Niger, and Honduras by the end of the fiscal year. In September, the Rwanda program hosted participants for the Train the Trainer (TTT) ACT training session. Medical directors and
clinical supervisors from eight country programs attended the training. As certified ACT trainers, they will now be able to support the training of our clinicians to handle idiopathic and complex clubfoot cases. In August, we organized a virtual TTT on Clubfoot Early Detection and Adherence (CEDA) for staff, enabling them to train parent advisors in basic, spiritual, and advanced CEDA in their respective countries. Ten staff members from seven country programs participated in that TTT. (continued on next page)
FY24 Q1 New Patients
2,153
Unique Patients
8,960
1st Brace
1,527
Clinic Visits
23,238
Counseling Sessions
21,262
Home Visits
377
Faith Expressions
202
Church Connections
257
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Mission
vision
values
To free children and families from the physical, emotional and economic burden of clubfoot.
Every child and family will walk free from clubfoot and encounter the love of Christ.
• • • •
Striving for Excellence Working in Partnership Living with Integrity Serving with Compassion
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Increasing enrollment of patients in our clinics requires clubfoot awareness building throughout the healthcare system in each country. To help spread awareness of the benefits of early identification and treatment of children with clubfoot, we engaged in 249 Early Detection and Referral (EDR) education sessions for 4,653 medical professionals and community health workers. Throughout the quarter, our staff met with various stakeholders and potential partners, creating opportunities for advocacy and collaboration. One key effort included the Ghana team’s meeting with the Greater Accra Nursing and Midwifery Council and the Pediatric Society of Ghana. Another important effort was Burkina Faso’s team sharing their FY24 plan with APEFE (an international agency that works to strengthen organizational capacities for equality initiatives), an important step in developing their partnership with the Belgium Health Development Program.
Although Sudan’s security has yet to be restored, our commitment to serving our children and families remains as strong as ever. While we prayerfully await peace, the Sudan Clubfoot Programs is pursuing opportunities to extend our reach and enhance our capacities. We continue to see children at our clinic in Gezira. During the quarter, the team distributed sensitization posters at the Gezira clinic and printed materials to the Al Hilaliyya region. The Al Hilaliyya maternity department also recruited 20 medical professionals who attended an EDR education session in September.
Counseling Highlights Parent advisors from our more than 180 partner clinics are instrumental in our effort to share the love of Christ and provide ongoing personalized care to children and families. In this first quarter, parent advisors engaged in 21,262 counseling sessions and 377 home visits. The unique nature
Prayer Requests We ask that you pray for: •
Safe travel for our staff and parent advisors as they engage in programmatic activities
•
Peaceful resolution to conflict and fighting in the areas we serve: Sudan, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Haiti
•
That families’ hearts are open to the gospel as parent advisors interact with them
of these touchpoints cultivates space for sharing the gospel. In the past few months, parent advisors have connected 257 families to a local church and witnessed 202 individuals make an expression of faith. Our team is dedicated to the holistic care of children enrolled in treatment and support for their families. Parent advisors play an integral role in this effort, and we appreciate how they support our mission and values. Throughout our country programs, parent advisors continue establishing Parent Support Groups (PSGs), where parents gather to share tips, pray for their concerns, and celebrate their children’s milestones. For example, in Burundi this quarter, six new PSGs were formed, with 41 new families joining them. In Kenya, we divided the country into five geographical regions and assigned a lead parent advisor to each area. The lead parent advisor will work closely with the other parent advisors in their region and provide practical support services. This action will help support Issac, our counseling coordinator in Kenya, with the overall functioning of counseling activities for the program.
Words to Hurt and Heal - Chaniqye in Rwanda Proverbs 18:21 warns us, “The tongue can bring death or life.” A neighbor’s poor choice of words devastated Solange when her son Chanique was born with clubfoot. “You will be called the mom with a disabled child,” the neighbor mocked. At that moment, Solange started hiding her child’s feet. These hurtful words may have been enough for Solange never to find treatment for her son, leaving him disabled for life. Five months passed before Solange visited a hospital where she was told her child’s feet could be corrected at Muhima Clinic, a partner of Hope Walks. During her first appointment, a parent advisor offered Solange words of assurance that healed the effects of
her neighbor’s harsh words. Solange’s hope was restored. She no longer hid Chanique’s feet. After the casts straightened his feet, it was time for a tenotomy. During this outpatient procedure, clinicians cut the Achilles tendon, allowing the feet to stretch correctly prior to placing the final cast. Solange feared the tendons would not grow back together, but the clinical team’s reassuring words calmed her fears. Today, Chanique is running and playing ball with his friends. “Really, it’s a miracle,” Solange said. “I thank God for his love, Hope Walks for their support, clinicians and parent advisor for their kindness and sympathy.”
More than Fresh Eggs at the Market - Amir in Ethiopia One expects to find eggs, a fresh chicken, or a wide variety of vegetables when going to the outdoor market in Ethiopia, but one family never expected to find the answers to their son’s disability. Hamid’s son Amir was born with clubfoot, and until he visited the market that day, he did not know what to do for his son. Neighbors advised the family to go to traditional healers to see what they could do for Amir. But God’s timing brought Hamid to the market the day someone from Hope Walks was conducting marketplace awareness, an effective and inexpensive way to spread the word about clubfoot treatment. “I felt as though Allah brought me to the marketplace to find healing for my
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newborn clubfoot child,” Hamid said. The counseling provided by the parent advisor encouraged the family to stay on track with the treatment process and taught them about the love of Jesus. Hope Walks also provided transportation assistance to reduce the burden on the family each time they attended a clinic appointment. “Our family is the luckiest one because we couldn’t imagine our son’s future being disabled his whole life,” Hamid said. “We’re very thankful to find such a blessed organization that dedicates itself to treating clubfoot to fight disability and its burden from our country.” Pray for our team as they share the gospel message with families we serve.
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