Steady Footsteps

STEADY FOOTSTEPS, INC. was founded by an American couple: Virginia Lockett, a Quaker, and her husband David, who is Buddhist. David and Virginia first came to Vietnam in 1995 to adopt two children. They were saddened, at that time, by the apparently hopeless situation of disabled people in Vietnam.

By the time the Locketts returned to Vietnam in 2005 for a short-term volunteer project, improvements in Vietnamese medical care and economy had made attention to the plight of the disabled more feasible. And yet many of the foreign-run assistance projects that David and Virginia observed seemed to be ineffective--due, in large measure, to minimal and hurried oversight by absentee program directors.

That 2005 trip convinced David and Virginia that the efforts of two middle-aged, middle-class Americans, dedicated to preventing head injuries and to improving life for disabled people in Vietnam, could be both effective and appreciated. They quit their jobs, sold their home, founded STEADY FOOTSTEPS, and moved to Vietnam. They have yet to regret their decision.

Teaching by Example

Physical Therapy is a young profession in Vietnam and Occupational Therapy is a non-existent one. Our purpose here at the Da Nang Rehabilitation-Sanatorium Hospital is to demonstrate to Vietnamese-trained medical staff and students what compassionate and effective rehabilitative care looks like in practice. We leave the academic aspects of physical therapy education to other individuals and organizations. Steady Footsteps invites volunteer OTs and PTs to come and work with our neurologically impaired patients. We also welcome exceptionally gifted and mature physical therapy students to affiliate with our program.

For more information about volunteer opportunities, please contact Virginia at valockett@gmail.com
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Adaptive Equipment

Our work at STEADY FOOTSTEPS includes identifying and providing appropriate, locally produced adaptive equipment. Something as simple as a modified plastic table can sometimes be the key to greater independence and self-expression for a disabled person.

In addition to those more typical purchases, during the first six months of 2008, Steady Footsteps purchased 74 pairs of good-quality Vietnamese-made sport sandals and four false teeth. We offer free sandals to each of our potentially ambulatory patients because we’ve found that it’s a lot easier for our patients to develop their own “steady footsteps” with a solid, flat-bottomed sole beneath their feet than with flip-flops or bare feet. We bought four new front teeth for a sixteen-year old who had lost hers in the same bicycle accident that left her partially paralyzed. Life is rough enough for a poor, disabled sixteen year-old without having to hide her smile in embarrassment.

Your contribution of sixty US dollars can cover the cost of ten pairs of sandals (Eighty US dollars was enough for that set of custom-fit false teeth!)

Contact Information:

STEADY FOOTSTEPS, INC.
604 Clearfield Ave.
Chesapeake, VA 23320 USA
Web: www.steadyfootsteps.org.
Email: valockett@gmail.com.

STEADY FOOTSTEPS, INC. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

We welcome your tax-deductable contribution.

Virginia Lockett, PT
President and Founder