Rotary club donates prosthetic hands

SOUTHERN PROVINCE HUYE – The Rotary Club of Oregon, within the USA in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Butare on Tuesday donated functional artificial arms to amputees drawn from different parts of the country. The simple spring-loaded plastic hand is attached just above the elbow. The prosthetic hand can enable an amputee do different tasks like writing, tying shoes, as well as being able to operate a computer and serve food with ease. According to Tim Bewley from the Rotary Club of Oregon, 300 prosthetic hands will be distributed at different clinics in the country. “We have received enormous support from the University Teaching Hospital of Butare. We have enlisted staff from the hospital’s orthopaedic workshop to train technicians who will run the different centres in the country,” said Bewley. The prosthetic hand known technically as LAN-4 came after industrial engineer Ernie Meadows and his wife Marj lost their daughter Ellen in a car accident. Consequently they set out to create a legacy to her through a selfless, no money-to-gain act with an intent set to benefit children around the world. In 2005, Ernie Meadows gave permission for the LAN-4 to become a Rotary project, with the provision that no one would profit from its production or distribution, and no recipient would ever be charged for its use. According to Bewley, the Ellen Meadows Prosthetic Hand Foundation which he heads mainly depends on funds from well wishers who make donations to the fund. “We get funding from Rotarians the world over. It is through these donations that we are able to reach out to people in different parts of the world by giving the US$50 prosthetic hands at no cost,” Bewley added. Francis Nzioka, one of the very first recipients of the artificial instrument said that he now lives a normal life after acquiring the prosthetic hand. “Am able to write, sign documents and type on my computer. I can even type faster than my colleagues at work,” Nzioka, who lost his hand in 2005, said jokingly. The prosthetic hand has three curved, fixed digits opposed by two moveable digits that stay locked on an object until the whole hand is tipped back at the wrist, freeing the moveable digits. It is operated by the real hand or by pushing it against an object. Dr Andre Musemakweli, the director of the University Teaching Hospital and a Rotarian welcomed the donation, saying it would supplement the hospital’s efforts in providing replacements for lost limbs. “We are making replacements for legs; this intervention for the provision of hands is timely. We will explore possibilities of finding replacements for hands that were amputated just above the elbow with our partners,” said Musemakweli. Ends