The Hindu : National : 989 get Jaipur foot in Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 13, 2007
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989 get Jaipur foot in Pakistan

Special Correspondent

Team returns after providing artificial legs successfully

Camps, centres established in Karachi, Islamabad
Technology to be transferred to local technicians

JAIPUR: A 17-member team of the Mahavir Vikalang Sahayata Samiti (MVSS) has returned here from Pakistan after providing the famous “Jaipur Foot” to 989 disabled persons at two special camps held in Islamabad and Karachi. The artificial limbs were given free of cost with the help of voluntary organisations of Pakistan.

Two artificial limb centres established

The technicians’ team, lead by MVSS founder president and former SEBI Chairman D.R. Mehta – which was in Pakistan for nearly a month – helped in the establishment of two artificial limb centres in the two cities, besides fixing the limbs and providing callipers, crutches and other equipment to the beneficiaries.

The camp in the capital city of Islamabad was organised from August 10 to 21 and in the port city of Karachi from August 23 to September 7. While 403 persons were fitted with Jaipur Foot in Islamabad, 586 persons benefited from the camp in Karachi.

Many of the beneficiaries had lost their legs during the massive earthquake that hit northern Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir in October 2005.

Mr. Mehta said here on Wednesday that the number of Jaipur Foot provided in the camps far exceeded the target earlier set by MVSS.

“We had to get additional material and equipment from Jaipur to provide limbs to the disabled people who came from far and wide with the hope to walk and lead a normal life again with our support.”

Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad visited the camp in Karachi and inaugurated the Dow University Artificial Limb Centre set up in collaboration with MVSS. Similarly, the Jaipur Foot Naya Qadam Centre was established in Islamabad to provide free of cost limbs to disabled persons on a permanent basis.

Mr. Mehta said the people in Pakistan were moved by the philanthropic gesture of MVSS and expressed gratitude for helping out ordinary people without asking for anything in return. “Our month-long visit created an atmosphere of immense goodwill and generated a powerful opinion in support of cordial relations between the two countries.”

MVVS to continue giving support

The MVSS will continue to supply components for assembling Jaipur Foot at the two centres and will later transfer the technology to enable the local technicians to manufacture the limbs themselves.

The institutions in Pakistan which extended support to the MVSS team during the visit and helped in the establishment of artificial limb centres were the Dow University of Health Sciences, Rotary Club of Karachi, Health and Social Welfare Association, National Rural Support Programme and the Naya Qadam Trust.

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