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Bringing back their smile

Unlike other support gadgets, the Jaipur limbs are simpler and easy to wear and more importantly they bring back the smiles in minutes

Photo: K.R. Deepak

HELPING HAND Volunteers of BMVSS shaping the moulds for designing the artificial limbs

For the last seven years, Kantipilli Nirmala of Tallapalem Village in Kasimkota mandal had been labouring her way from the fields to her home on two wooden crutches. But today she is a happy woman, as her ordeal is over. The ever-moist eyes have been replaced by the old twinkle that she lost when her right leg was amputated after it was crushed under a lorry.

Today she can walk back confidently and thanks to the artificial limb that was fixed to her limp stump at a free camp held here on Thursday. After it was fixed she held the hands of the people of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), the makers of the artificial limbs or more popularly known as the Jaipur limbs, and Krushi Orthopedic Welfare Society (KOWS), the organisers of the camp and profusely thanked them for bringing back the colours in her life.

Krushi, a city based NGO, had organised a two-day free artificial limb camp here on March 23 and 24 in association with BMVSS. The camp had provided artificial limbs and other support items to over 100 differently-abled persons.

Mass movement

What started of as an experiment three decades ago is today a global movement. Ramchand of Kota in Rajasthan, who practised art as a profession and carpentry as a hobby stumbled upon the idea of making a wooden leg for a disabled person that would be flexible and lighter in weight. This small idea gave shape to the famous Jaipur limbs in 1975 when BMVSS was started.

"The year was marked to celebrate the 2500th birth anniversary of Bhagwan Mahaveer and we wanted to do something good and different. We picked up the idea of artificial limbs and started in a small way at Jaipur and slowly over the years the organisation has grown. Till date Master Ramchand heads our research and development department and the wooden models have paved way for the much lighter and flexible rubber models. Today we provide artificial limbs to over 70,000 people all over the globe," says M.C. Bhandari of BMVSS.

So far the beneficiaries of BMVSS have crossed the eight-lakh mark all over world right from covering landmine victims in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia to our own Kargil heroes and from Philippines to Bolivia.

Changes life in minutes

Unlike other support gadgets, the Jaipur limbs are simpler and easy to wear. Most importantly they bring back the smiles in minutes. "The result is almost immediate. The moment it is fixed on a person he or she who had been labouring on crutches for years can stand up erect and walk with ease. I have seen people run, jump, swim and cycle with ease after little practice," adds Mr. Bhandari.

Run by the disabled

Over 70 per cent of the staff are differently-abled people at BMVSS. "We have trained them to handle different departments and now they are experts at their jobs. The idea is make them self-reliant," says he.

Apart from the artificial limbs the Samiti also provides calipers, tri-cycles, hearing aids, other support mechanisms and also performs surgeries. And all these are done free of cost.

For further details e-mail: bmvssjpr@datainfosys.net

SUMIT BHATTACHARJEE

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