Meet Raphael, a three-year old boy from Tanzania born with congenital bilateral clubfoot. Clubfoot, also called congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV), affects both feet and has the appearance of feet that have been rotated internally at the ankle.
Raphael also has a deformity on his hands. His condition has delayed his ability to start walking, but with wide eyes and a big smile, Raphael is still attempting to crawl.
“I will be happy to see my son able to walk and actively [be] involved in various activities like other children,” said Raphael’s mother.
Raphael is the sixth and last born in his family of small-scale farmers. The family relies on planting and selling maize, sunflower seeds, and peanuts. But in more recent years, the poor harvest has forced a financial burden. The realities of providing food and shelter have sunk in, and even one of their children had to drop out of school because of their inability to pay for tuition.
$1,160 will fund Raphael’s ability to walk on his two small feet. “As Raphael continues to grow he will have the ability to walk on plantigrade,” his doctor shares.