SharmarkE’S STORY

Sharmarke was born with a clubfoot deformity of the right foot. He and his family live in a small village close to the Somaliland border with Ethiopia.

The family are livestock herders like many other families in the area. They have 5 children including Sharmarke. Sulekha, his older sister was born with a bilateral clubfoot deformity and was treated by Diversity Action Network (DAN), a partner of Australian Doctors for Africa, in 2015.

Sharmarke was brought to DAN’s clubfoot clinic in Hargeisa in November 2021 when he was 7 months old.  Ponseti treatment was started and after 5 weeks of manipulation and weekly plasters, a tenotomy procedure was undertaken to maximize the correction. The tenotomy was done by an orthopedic surgeon based in Hargeisa Group Hospital, who was trained by ADFA.  Plaster castings continued, followed by the use of a prosthetic brace to prevent the recurrence of the deformity. The family now is back home and Sharmarke will be able to walk like any other child.

Sharmarke’s mother expressed her happiness when the child’s foot deformity was fully corrected. She has big plans for him in the future and wants Sharmarke to enrol in the local school when he reaches school age. Without the treatment provided by DAN, and supported by ADFA, children like Sharmarke would suffer life-long disability.