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World Clubfoot Day: GIS students paint foot braces for clubfoot children in Ghana
Students of the Art Club of the Ghana International School (GIS) in Accra have participated in a “Paint a Brace” initiative as part of activities to commemorate this year’s World Clubfoot Day on June 3, 2023.
This initiative led by the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) and Hope Walks, a non-governmental organisation, was to put a smile on the faces of children receiving treatment for clubfoot at various facilities in the country.
Some of the braces designed by the pupils
Clubfoot is a range of foot abnormalities usually present at birth in which a baby’s foot is twisted out of shape or position.
With the guidance of teachers and the team from CHAG and Hopes for Life, the art students actively participated in the project and came up with colorful footbraces last Wednesday in Accra.
Mrs. Nana Afua Adutwumwaa Adjetey, Programme Manager, CHAG/Hope Walks Clubfoot Project, said the collaboration was to create clubfoot awareness and treatment.
“About one in 1,000 babies born in Ghana have the deformity. Because the cause is largely unknown, the disease is considered a curse with the belief that the babies are “river babies” or “dwarf babies.”
“These beliefs and the high stigma associated with the deformity force some families to abandon their children,” she said, adding that the disease was treatable and about 8,000 children had received treatment since 2008.
Treatment for clubfoot comes in two stages.
The Corrective Phase involves a series of manipulation, casting, and tenotomy (minor surgical procedure).
The Maintenance Phase involves wearing of foot abduction brace. At this stage, a clubfoot child wears the brace to maintain the correction achieved till age five.
In the first three months, the child wears the brace for 23 hours a day. The brace is taken off during bath time and exercise (stretches) is done for the baby’s foot. After three months, the child wears the braces during the night and nap time till age five to avoid clubfoot relapse or re-occurrence.
CHAG and Hope Walks urged individuals and institutions to replicate the project and support children with clubfoot.
By Ernest Nutsugah
Medical Doctor and dietician, Dr Bernice Korkor Asare, has urged women to take greater responsibility for their lifestyle choices, particularly their eating habits and levels of physical activity, to help reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.
According to her, although, some breast cancer risk factors, such as family history and certain reproductive factors, may not be within an individual’s control, lifestyle choices offer an opportunity for people to take preventive action.
She made this known during a talk on the topic: “Role of diet in breast cancer prevention” organised by Times Ladies Association of the New Times Corporation, publishers of The Ghanaian Times and The Spectator, in Accra on Thursday.
The event themed “Breast Cancer Awareness- Promoting Early Detection, Healthy Eating and Prevention.” 
She noted that having a risk factor did not automatically mean a person would develop breast cancer, but could increase the likelihood of developing the disease compared with someone without that particular risk factor.
“Having close relatives who have had breast cancer, particularly a mother, sister or daughter, may increase the risk, although not everyone with a family history will develop the disease,” Dr Asare opined. Read More.
By Adizatu K. Munkaila
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A group of compassionate friends from Innovation Gospel Impact last Friday visited the management, teachers and learners of the Street Academy in Accra.
The visit was to interact to get a deeper insight into the operations of the Academy that houses hundreds of street and underprivileged children and find ways to support them.
The team was led by Rev. Dr Isaac Apenteng Yeboah, a former Director for West African Mailbox Club and Director for Prisons Support Foundation, and Rev. Dale Sutherland from Washington DC.
The call, according to the visitors was occasioned by reports about the struggles of the Academy despite the occasional support it enjoys from individuals and some corporate entities.
Briefing them, the Founder and Executive Director of the Academy, Dr Ataa Lartey, thanked them for the concern showed, indicating that “this is a major boost for both teachers and learners; knowing that their plight is known by people outside their premises.”
According Dr Lartey, the Academy had planned to undertake a number of project to enhance teaching and learning and also procure facilities for the children with keen interest in sports but had to shelve those plans for lack of finance.
He told the team that their biggest concerns were the monthly utility bills that takes a toll on their finances.
“We have a piece of land we planned to turn into an astro turf pitch to train the younger ones whose interests lies in making a career out of football, however, we have been unable to commence because there is no money now,” he said.
Dr Lartey expressed gratitude to the teachers who have dedicated their lives to training these children, rather than going for well-paying jobs and hoped that with time, their conditions of engagement would improve.
Moved by the plight of the Academy, the group donated a cash amount of Gh₵3,000 to settle its water bills.
They described as unfortunate the conditions of learners and teachers of the Academy and pledged to continuously support their operations to realize the dream to build a better future for the unfortunate children.
The group offered to support the school with its monthly utility bills, feeding and staff allowance and urged the Academy staff to remain in constant touch with them.
The Street Academy is located at the Accra Art Center and offers brilliant but needy the chance to pursue their educational dreams by enrolling them in public schools with others offered training in sports and cultural activities.
By Spectator Reporter
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