Veronica comes to Hamilton
In most countries club feet are corrected at birth but in countries like East Timor which cannot provide that level of healthcare children have to cope virtually unaided.
In Veronica's case, she has adapted by learning to walk on the tops of her feet, but suffers ulcers and blisters. An orphan, Veronica was spotted by a doctor travelling through East Timor who recommended her to ROMAC.
ROMAC accepted her and it was arranged that Veronica be sent to New Zealand for the treatment.
Veronica was taken in by Hamilton-based couple Ian and Diana Wood, who are members of the Rotary Club of Fairfield.
"We just knew it was something we both wanted to do," Mrs Wood said.
When Mrs Wood was younger her family helped to look after a boy with club feet.
"I was there when he walked for the first time. It was a wonderful moment," she said.
Veronica arrived in New Zealand on March 15, 2008 and settled in with the Woods in expectation of her operation in Auckland in April.
However, the junior doctor's strike on April 22 and 23 threw a spanner in the works, with Veronica one of the 8000 patients nationwide forced to reschedule their elective surgery.
The delay was devastating.
"I am sad," Veronica said. "I want to get my feet fixed."
Mrs Wood said Veronica had "waited her whole life for this".
"She has had a six-week wait since arriving here and now must go on waiting.
"The days are long for her."
So the Woods enrolled Veronica at Sacred Heart Girls' College in Hamilton where she is now having a crash course in English.
With her operation rescheduled for July, Veronica is immersing herself in her new life and has taken a liking to New Zealand food and culture.
"I like two places in New Zealand," Veronica said. "I like school because I can learn English and I like Auckland because that is where the hospital is to fix my feet."
She has already been assessed by surgeons who worked on a 3D computer modelling from Cat scans to determine how best to fix her feet.
They believe they can get her feet to face the right way, but that the feet will always be stiff.
Mrs Wood said Veronica was determined to return to her own country looking like all the other teenagers.
"She knows that this surgery has risks and that it is going to be painful. But she is adamant that she wants to return to East Timor speaking English fluently and with feet that look like everyone else's.
"Veronica is a happy, intelligent girl. She doesn't want to give up."
And she hasn't lost sight of her life back in East Timor either, with plans to become a nun. "I want to be able to help people," she said.
