The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
Flexibility and adaptation has always been in MiracleFeet’s DNA, and we continue to add systems, policies, and processes to support and maintain our growth and impact—particularly in light of fluctuating and unpredictable circumstances due to the pandemic. Despite these challenges, MiracleFeet still achieved incredible milestones in 2021.
Thanks to our dedicated staff, partners, and leadership, our programs enrolled more new children than in any previous year, and we were able to respond rapidly to new conditions in each country, including rolling out virtual trainings for healthcare providers and providing PPE in clinics. We added mobile clinics that brought treatment to patients’ communities, utilized tele-consults to advise parents unable to leave their homes, set up casting stations in alternative locations, and delivered braces via bicycle and motorcycles couriers. By July 2021, 67% of the approximately 10,000 children and newborns whose treatment was delayed by COVID returned to treatment.
Over the past year, we have also added tremendous capacity to our organizational structure through new leadership and deeply experienced team members. Emmanuel Otoo joined MiracleFeet’s leadership team as Director of Programs, and he brings over a decade of experience leading change for social justice issues throughout Africa and the Middle East to support the expansion of MiracleFeet’s national partnerships. MiracleFeet also added additional capacity in the Program Management and Program Solutions teams, primarily through regionally based staff in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Additionally, MiracleFeet increased its global team from 24 to 31 full-time employees over the past year in anticipation of continued growth.
MiracleFeet’s continued focus on growth and impact is made possible by its generous donors. In 2021, MiracleFeet raised 36% more in donations and pledges than the previous year, including our first major grants from US and UK government aid agencies.