Colombia looking to expand their brace bank and educate parents on the importance of the brace

April 25, 2023

Colombia
Written by Marcel van Opstal (Colombia) and Astrid Medina, both are members of RC of Bogotá Centenario (Colombia)

Rotarians in Colombia propose to expand their efforts to ensure 823 children complete their clubfoot treatment by expanding the number of braces available in a brace bank and to provide training to 400 parents regarding the importance of using the braces until age 5 as well as handling and appropriate use of the brace.

In 2021, Rotary and the Colombian Orthopedic Society created the brace bank that lends braces to children free of charge and changes them as the child’s foot grows. This use and reuse of braces saves resources and allows that by wearing braces up to 5 years of age, children maintain the good results of the Ponseti Method.

It has been a fantastic collaborative exercise between the two districts of Colombia, with contributions from more than 25 Colombian Rotary Clubs, 5 Rotary Clubs of Calgary, RAG4Clubfoot on behalf of a donation from an Iowa City (Iowa) Rotary Club, District 5360 (Calgary, Canada) & District 6000 (Iowa, USA).

Global Grant (#2238189) application has been submitted to The Rotary Foundation for review and approval.