Empowering the Frontline: How CURE India and Durg’s Anganwadis are Ensuring a Disability-Free Future Through RunFree2030
In the quiet corners of the Durg District in Chhattisgarh, a transformation is taking place—one that begins with a simple conversation and ends with a child’s first step. At CURE India, we believe that the geography of a child's birth should never determine their ability to walk. Recently, our mission to eradicate clubfoot disability reached an Anganwadi Centre in Durg, where our dedicated District Program Coordinator (DPC), Ms. Deeplata Minj, led a vital awareness session.
By partnering with local caregivers like Ms. Savitri Sahu, an Anganwadi Worker whose commitment to community welfare is truly inspiring, CURE India is weaving a safety net of early identification across the state. As one of the Top 10 NGO's in India, CURE India (often referred to simply as CURE) is not just providing medical care; we are building an informed, compassionate nation where Clubfoot is no longer a life sentence of disability.
For many families in rural and semi-urban districts, the birth of a child with an inward-turning foot can be a source of immense anxiety and confusion. Without the right information, this treatable condition is often mistaken for an incurable curse or a permanent deformity. This is why our outreach in Durg is so essential.
During the session, Ms. Deeplata Minj emphasized that clubfoot is fully treatable. When identified early—ideally within the first few weeks of life—the journey to a total cure is non-surgical, faster, and highly effective. By empowering Anganwadi workers with this knowledge, we ensure that the moment a child is born with clubfoot in their community, they are promptly referred to a CURE clinic for Free Treatment.
At the heart of our clinical success is the Ponseti method, the globally recognized gold standard for clubfoot correction. This method is a gentle, non-surgical process that has revolutionized pediatric orthopedics.
The treatment involves a series of weekly manipulations and plaster casts that gradually move the foot into its correct position. Once the correction is achieved, the child enters the maintenance phase using a FAB (Foot Abduction Brace). This specialized brace is the key to preventing relapse, ensuring that the child’s feet stay straight as they grow.
As the largest clubfoot program in the world, CURE India ensures that every child, regardless of their family's economic background, has access to these high-quality braces and the expertise of trained medical professionals. Our national presence allows us to maintain the same world-class standards of care in Durg as we do in India’s largest metropolitan hospitals.
CURE India is proud to have documented the most number of clubfoot children treated globally, with over 1,18,000 lives transformed to date. However, our work is far from finished.
Currently, CURE India is treating 33% of children born with clubfoot in India. While this achievement has solidified our reputation as one of the Top 10 NGO's in the country, our sights are set on a much more ambitious goal. Through our RunFree2030 initiative, we are scaling up to 70% coverage in the next 5 years.
To reach this 70% target, we must strengthen our presence at the grassroots level. Every awareness session conducted by a DPC in an Anganwadi centre is a building block for this national vision. By increasing the rate of early identification and referral, we ensure that the thousands of children currently "missed" by the system are brought into the fold of care.
Donors and the general public often ask what makes CURE India a leader in the social sector. The answer lies in our twin pillars of credibility and transparency of fund usage. We understand that every donation represents a person’s trust in our mission. We strive to honor that trust by ensuring that every rupee is utilized effectively to provide medical supplies, manufacture FAB braces, and fund the essential outreach work done by coordinators like Ms. Deeplata Minj.
Being recognized among the Top 10 NGO's in India is a responsibility we take seriously. We invite you to join this movement:
The interaction in Durg is a testament to the power of community. When an NGO, a healthcare worker, and a local caregiver unite, the result is a child who can walk, run, and attend school with dignity.
Together, through RunFree2030, we are building an India where no child is left behind. Let’s make every step count toward a disability-free future.
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