Shahnawaz

Repairing clubfoot gives a young boy like Shahnawaz access to education, more profitable work and a brighter future.

"They took my money, but no doctor saw my son," says Fahmiba Rabbani, who asked at the hospital why the feet of her newborn son were twisted. "I thought I might have done something wrong when I was pregnant".

Families living in the slums of Kolkata, India, are often asked to pay for medical care they never receive. "I stayed in hospital for one week. No-one saw him, and we returned home without any treatment," says Fahmiba.

To keep food on the table she retured to work as a dressmaker, earning only 2,000 rupees a month (about £27). Despite his grandmother's loving care, Shahnawaz's feet became more crooked. 

"We were told by neighbours and friends that if he walked on his feet it would get worse."

Soon the whole future of four year old Shahnawaz was at stake. Energetic and active, all he wanted to do was run and play outside, but his well-meaning family kept him indoors lying in bed. He had no interaction with other children and wasn't enrolled in school.

"I didn't want my grandson to just sit around for his life," says grandmother Haseena, who realised the situation would never improve unless Shahnawaz got treatment. "I searched and searched and finally found a friend who told me about Mobility India." But the family could never hope to cover the cost of surgery to repair bilateral clubfoot, which was £150.

CBM support

When Fahmiba learnt that CBM support allowed Mobility India to provide the surgery for free, "We were not just happy, we were very, very happy." 

Today Shahnawaz's legs are healing in callipers, but his is already able to play cricket. More importantly, support like yours means he's able to attend school - and his future education could release his family from poverty.