A long line formed outside the clinic the morning the Rotary Jaipur Limb Project opened the new Permanent Limb Centre in Dharmasala, India.
Rotarian Subrahmanyam Ganesh from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, was in Dharmasala on Dec. 3, 2006, when the center opened.
"News travels so fast," Ganesh said. "People traveled from 100 miles away, traveling by all means to get there."
Local amputees and Tibetan refugees who had come to live by their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, hoped for a chance to receive a new limb.
" It brings tears to my eyes," Ganesh said with emotion while helping man the project's booth at the Rotary International convention this week in the Salt Palace Convention Center. "To see a child stand up for the first time and hear his mother say 'Thank you, thank you very much.'"
Accidents, disease, polio, snake bites and land mines sometimes result in losing a leg. The loss of a leg can have a devastating affect on the amputee. Making a living in the rough countryside in the foothills of the Himalayas is challenging for all residents, but almost impossible for a person with physical limitations.
After a successful limb camp in Dharmasala in 2004, Rotarians were asked to open a permanent limb center to serve the northern India area. During the limb camp they had helped 837 individuals, but there were still many people needing a new limb. In less than three years, the center was ready for business.
The total cost of manufacturing an artificial Jaipur Limb is $50, but the amputees receive it for free. The limb is a simple design with the heat-formed leg section made from polyethylene industrial quality drain pipe. A specially designed plastic socket is placed at the top and a realistic shaped Jaipur foot made of vulcanized rubber and wood is attached to the bottom of the leg section.
Each leg is made on site to ensure a the right fit. Technicians make an impression of each individual's stump on the first day after a medical exam has found the candidate would be able to use an artificial limb. Food and lodging are provided for the amputee and an able-bodied companion while they wait. Technicians work all night so that by morning, names are called and amputees receive and put on their new limbs.
"It only takes a few hours to get used to it," said Ganesh. "It's like they've been walking with it all their lives."
George Buckley, a Rotarian from Parkstone, England, involved in the Jaipur Limb Project, is an amputee. He usually uses an artificial limb he bought in England at a cost of $3,000.
"I know how it feels for them," said Buckley. "When I was in Uganda on a Rotary Jaipur Limb Project, they made one for me. I was walking within five hours. It's such a good fit, I still use it around my home."
While in Uganda, Buckley met a man who had lost a leg to a land mine.
"He had been an elder, but since losing his leg he had been ostracized by his village," said Buckley. "He wasn't considered whole."
Buckley still keeps pictures of the man at home in England. He says the man is smiling next to his wife.
"He got a job and his family back," said Buckley. "He could walk and ride a bike, and he was made the elder of the village again."
The Rotarians from the United Kingdom involved in the Jaipur Limb Project have provided 100,000 limbs to amputees in India, Africa and other parts of the world over the past 20 years, and with the promised financial support during the convention hope to do even more.
E-mail: dramsay@desnews.com