Lubanzi Ntunja’s Clubfoot Journey: From Diagnosis to Hope
In March 2024, Mongikazi Ntunja arrived at Tygerberg Hospital with her three-week-old son, Lubanzi. He had just been diagnosed with bilateral clubfoot—an unfamiliar term that left Mongikazi unsure of what the future held for her baby boy. “I had never heard of clubfoot,” Mongikazi recalls. “The nurse at the hospital told me my baby had […]
Celebrating Milestones: Jack Jiyane Graduates from Clubfoot Treatment
Mom Patience Jiyane recently wrote to us with heart-warming news: her son Jack has successfully graduated from wearing his clubfoot brace, and has officially completed his clubfoot treatment. Born in July 2018, Jack is six years old and will start school next year with beautiful, flexible feet. Patience shared their journey with us: The Diagnosis […]
Refeletse’s Clubfoot Treatment: My son is proof that clubfoot is treatable. A story of hope, perseverance, and progress.
Refeletse Monaila’s mother shares their story: My husband and I brought our week-old baby boy to the Tygerberg Hospital Clubfoot Clinic, filled with a mix of emotions—fear, uncertainty, and hope. We didn’t know what to expect, but from the moment we arrived, we were met with kindness, encouragement, and support from Jane from Steps and […]
Our 18 year old wonder – Tumiso Moloi
In 2005, Brenda Moloi emailed Karen Mara Moss with a query about her 4-month-old baby, who was born with clubfoot. With that email, Tumiso became one of the first babies in South Africa to receive the Ponseti treatment for clubfoot. STEPS was but a baby then too. Now, we are both celebrating our 18th birthday […]
Bulumko turns 5! A happy update on his clubfoot story
Bulumko Magwegwe’s 5th birthday was on the 2nd of December. He recently celebrated another big milestone, his successful graduation from clubfoot treatment! We celebrated with Bulumko and his mother Nobaxolisi and presented him with a STEPS treatment graduation certificate at the Tygerberg Hospital clinic where he was successfully treated. We first shared Bulumko’s story in […]
Zainab’s story – ‘She loves dancing with her sisters’
Zainab Dawood will be six years old in September, and she was born with clubfoot. She was treated soon after birth at Maitland Cottage Children’s Orthopaedic Hospital in Cape Town. Zainab’s mother Samia says: “I remember going for my 20 week pregnancy scan and finding out that my baby had clubfoot. I knew nothing about […]
Herman’s clubfoot success story – ‘We are completely positive about his future’
Herman Nagel will be six years old in October 2022. He lives in Vanderbijlpark,Gauteng with his mom and dad, Hannelie and Nico, and brother Nicholas. He was born with bilateral clubfoot. Hannelie says, ”We only found out he had clubfoot the day he was born. We were shocked, you don’t expect something like that because […]
Gracelynne’s clubfoot success story – ‘She wants to be a doctor when she grows up.’
Ivy Muffler, Steps clinic coordinator at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, says, “Gracelynne is one of the first babies I met when I started working for Steps as a clinic coordinator and parent adviser. She was just seven days old. She’s adorable.” Mom Bianca Sammering shares, “Gracelynn is now seven years old and she is […]