On Friday 29 November, 2019 the Hoedspruit Herald published the delightful story of how baby Keletso from the Oaks, benefitted from a Rotary intervention when his club foot was successfully treated by Dr Fatti at Tintswalo Hospital.
Hoedspruit Rotary members have spent many loving and productive hours doing renovation and building work at the Poulo Crèche in the Oaks.
While inspecting the building works, Rotary President, Ole Ahrens, and past president, Humphrey Couch, noticed that little Keletso Ntwampe, who is an identical twin and a pupil at the crèche, was having major difficulty walking around the playground with his little club foot while all his mates were freely bounding around.
Rotary Hoedspruit are in regular contact and give generous donation to Dr Fatti at Tintswalo Hospital, and about a year ago Dr Fatti addressed our club on his successful treatment, the Dr Ponseti Method, for children with club feet. He said if treated at an early age, the treatment is very successful.
Ideally, Keletso should have been treated at birth and it was really sad that his parents were unaware that there is a treatment for club foot.
It is a fairly easy corrective procedure if caught in early stages and can lead to children having normal walking lives. Dr Fatti confirmed that the proliferation of little club feet is not just a South African phenomena but worldwide.
Ole Ahrens, Rotary Hoedspruit President and Rotarian Jill Ovens arranged and sponsored little Keletso to go from the Oaks every week with his parents to have his treatment with Dr Fatti at Tintswalo Hospital.
Rotarian Christine du Preez, Director of Hlokomela Clinic provided a carer to accompany him for the first five visits and Jill drove him to the hospital.
Ahrens, who was recently on a visit to the crèche, saw Keletso and was amazed at how he was recovering.
Now eight months later after diligently wearing his boots and brace at night for the second phase of his treatment he is nearing the end of his correctional procedure and has only a few more hospital visits left at which point he will be able to comfortably run around the playground with his friends.
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