Our clubfoot story
STEPS Charity NPC is a non-profit support organisation that improves the lives of children born with clubfoot in southern and east Africa.
It all started in 2003
Our story started in 2003 with the birth of a boy with clubfoot in South Africa. After her son’s successful treatment by Dr Ponseti in Iowa, Karen Mara Moss returned home and told the story to local doctors. Karen founded STEPS in 2005 to introduce and promote the Ponseti Method of clubfoot treatment in southern Africa and support families going through treatment.
STEPS is a registered NPC, NPO and PBO based in Cape Town, South Africa.
NPC: 2005/024391/08
PBO: 930 048 068
NPO: 051-217
We work with clubfoot clinics in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, the Seychelles, and provide information and support to parents across southern and east Africa.
Our award-winning Theory of Change Model has four pillars:
Training Health professionals
Clubfoot Clinic Support
Clubfoot Advocacy
Clubfoot Braces
training the ponseti method
We held our first training in Johannesburg in 2006 to introduce the Ponseti Method to South African Paediatric Orthopaedic surgeons, and to have consensus that the Ponseti Method is the best treatment for clubfoot. Endorsed by Dr Ignacio Ponseti and with expert faculty trainers from Brazil, Canada and the UK, the conference was a resounding success and drove the change of clubfoot treatment in the region.
The 2nd STEPS Ponseti workshop in 2007 focused on public health facilities, rural clinics and sustainability. Following this training, the first full Ponseti clubfoot clinics were established by doctors at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and in other main centres around South Africa. Ugandan orthotists taught local technicians to make a low-cost clubfoot brace. Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital’s orthopaedic workshop in Soweto produces 50-60 of these braces a month to sustain successful treatment.
Since then we have held various training sessions in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, the Seychelles and virtually.
The Ponseti Method is now part of South African medical school curriculum for doctors. It is the gold-standard of treatment for clubfoot in South Africa, having been officially endorsed by South African Paediatric Orthopaedic Society (SAPOS) in 2012 as best practice. Steps partners with SAPOS on all our training workshops. STEPS medical director is a Ponseti faculty trainer.
innovation & awards
As STEPS grew our scope of work in South Africa, we gained recognition as an innovative and sustainable organisation. We mentor and support many African clubfoot treatment providers.
STEPS supports and partners with 38 clubfoot clinics in South African state health sector.
STEPS Ponseti for Parents(c) education materials are used in the Africa Clubfoot Training curriculum and have been translated into seven languages.
In 2017 STEPS won Gold in the Impumelelo Social Innovation Awards.
In 2018 STEPS won 2nd prize and audience choice award in the SAB Foundation Social Enterprise Impact awards.
Download a PDF of the latest STEPS profile.