Actors Boris Kodjoe and Nicole-Ari Kodjoe recently returned from a week-long trip to West Africa, Ghana, where they met with Health officials about establishing a clinic for Spina Bifida patients on behalf of their foundation, Sophie’s Voice.
Sophie’s Voice Foundation ,which is dear to the Kodjoe’s heart, was founded in honor of the couple’s daughter Sophie,4, who was born with spina bifida.
“Sophie was born with spina bifida, which is a neural tube defect. Itâs something where the spinal cord develops and doesnât close all the way. So, a lot of kids who suffer from spina bifida have brain damage, motor function issues, they canât move their legs, and they donât have any sensations. I thank God that my daughter was spared those more severe effects. She canât control her bladder [though] ⊠We have to monitor the pressure in her bladder by catheterizing, which can be very [difficult for her] â itâs just not a nice thing for a kid having to grow up being catheterized every three hours,âsaid Boris in an interview with RollingOut magazine earlier this year.
Boris and his wife Nicole hope to spare many more children in Ghana who do not have access to the resources that Sophie does. Currently, Ghana does not provide special health care for newborns with spina bifida, but the Kodjoe’s hope to change that:
“Working together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), SVF will help initiate a surveillance project to determine the current population living with spina bifida and the countryâs mortality rate of babies born with spina bifida. Once a clinic model is designed to accommodate the Ghana healthcare system, SVF will take a delegation of physicians, nurses and healthcare providers from Childrenâs Healthcare of Atlanta and other U.S. institutions to Ghana, where they will be teamed with Ghanaian physicians and nurses to provide training and hands-on patient care. In addition to the clinic, SVF will establish its first chapter outside the U.S. in Ghana â to be known as Sophieâs Voice Ghana.”
Click here to see more pictures from the Kodjoe family during the “R Baby Foundation Walk”
