Miraclefeet is a nonprofit that focuses on treating clubfoot, a birth defect. With 14 team members, Miraclefeet has been able to help 15,000 children in 13 countries throughout the six years it’s existed.
About 180,000 babies are born with clubfoot every year and 80 percent of cases are located in countries with limited resources.
Chesca Colloredo-Mansfeld, Miraclefeet co-founder and executive director, said clubfoot can be treated for a total of $250, yet it’s still one of the most prominent medical issues in the developing world.
Colloredo-Mansfeld first became interested in clubfoot while working at the University of Iowa when she witnessed Dr. Ignacio Ponseti find a cure for the condition.
“Medically, when someone figured out how to treat it, it seemed like a no-brainer,” Colloredo-Mansfeld said.
She said people are born with clubfoot in the United States, but the availability of treatment makes it a more prominent disease in developing nations.
“For me, this isn’t really about a deep passion I have for feet or for clubfoot, it’s about a passion I have for changing the lives of kids who face terrible prospects,” she said.
In May 2015, Google launched the $20 million program Google Impact Challenges: Disabilities to help expand nonprofit foundations in developing countries.