Atinkut in Ethiopia
When baby Atinkut was born with twisted feet, his family believed there was no hope. In their small farming village tucked deep within rural Ethiopia, whispers of despair followed them. The only stories they’d ever heard about clubfoot were tragic—tales of men like “Mister X” who had never received treatment and now lived in shame and struggle. No one believed healing was possible.
Atinkut’s mother had more than her child’s condition weighing on her. Poverty ran deep, and her marriage was unraveling. Eventually, her husband left and remarried, leaving her to care for two young children alone. Still, she pressed forward, cradling both her pain and her hope as she walked for days to reach the hospital—through conflict zones and across treacherous terrain—just for one casting appointment.
She would make that exhausting two- to three-day journey multiple times, often on foot, always alone.
The hardest moment came during the casting stage, when the long trips felt heavier without anyone to help. But something shifted the day she received her child’s first brace. She saw children running on straight feet—children who had once been like her son. In the quiet counseling sessions with a parent advisor, she found encouragement, practical support, and something she hadn’t felt in a long time: peace.
“That time marked the beginning of our hope,” she said. “We found healing when we felt discomfort with ourselves, the community, and even with God.”
Hope came in many forms: a new understanding of clubfoot, financial support for transportation, and the faithful encouragement of someone who believed in her child’s future. Most of all, it came in seeing Atinkut’s feet gradually straighten—evidence that healing wasn’t just possible; It was happening.
Today, Atinkut’s mom walks with confidence, not fear. She’s still attending follow-up appointments, still walking—this time with renewed strength.
And she wants the world to know: “Thanks to my God, to Hope Walks, and to the dedicated workers, visionaries, and those who took the initiative.”
Before
Casting
Bracing
After