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THE ROTARY JAIPUR LIMB PROJECT |
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1. WHAT IS THE ROTARY JAIPUR LIMB PROJECT AND WHEN WAS IT STARTED ? The Rotary Jaipur Limb Project was started in 1984 to give financial support to the Mahaveer Society for the Physically Handicapped who provide artificial limbs, callipers and other aids to the poor in India. Initially, support was directed at the two Permanent Centres (Jaipur & Delhi) but in 1990 the Project was extended to the sponsorship of Rotary LIMB CAMPS in India and to the establishment of Permanent Limb Centres in other countries, staffed by people trained by master technicians from Jaipur. Co-ordination of this support in RIBI is through theRotary Jaipur Limb Project Trust and the detailed work of organising Camps and Centres, giving talks to Rotary Clubs, attending District Conferences and Exhibitions, etc., is carried out by the Management Committee, a group of Rotarians, drawn from various parts of RIBI, appointed by the Trustees. 2. WHAT IS A LIMB CAMP ? Amputees have to travel up to a thousand miles to either of the Permanent Centres in India, therefore, Limb Camps are organised to take the treatment to the patients. A local Rotary Club(s) will manage these temporary Camps, which last about two weeks, where treatment is given to, on average, 600 (occasionally up to 3000) local amputees and polio victims. The making and fitting of the artificial limbs and callipers is carried out by a team of technicians who travel from the Jaipur or Delhi centres with materials and equipment. More than fifty such Rotary Camps have been held in India and, subject to funding being available, more are planned. RJLP is also actively involved in the establishment of more Permanent Centres on the Indian subcontinent. 3. HOW MUCH DOES A ROTARY JAIPUR LIMB CAMP COST ? To treat 500 amputees/polio victims and to provide 100 pairs of crutches - a typical Limb Camp - will cost about £15,000.00 and fully qualifies for a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant. Under current RF rules, Club or District funds attract 50% grant while District Designated Funds attract 100% grant. 4. WHERE ARE THE PERMANENT LIMB CENTRES IN INDIA AND WHO ARE THE PATIENTS ? There are two main Permanent Centres, both in the north of India, at JAIPUR and DELHI, where the disabled do, literally, come in off the streets to be fitted with artificial limbs. The centre at Jaipur is the largest limb centre of it’s kind in the world, with thousands of patients receiving help every year. The patients are usually the very poor, unable to pay for artificial limbs, and they come from all over India, some travelling a thousand miles or more, over many days, by train or bus, to reach the Centres. Over 80% of the patients have lost legs through road and railway accidents with only a small proportion incapacitated through disease. 5. DOES THE PROJECT SUPPORT WORK IN OTHER COUNTRIES ? Permanent Centres are established in Bangladesh, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Panama, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. We are working on projects for centres in Columbia, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Nepal. 6. WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AFRICA ? Our policy outside of India is to establish and support Permanent Jaipur Limb Centres and we are particularly busy in Africa. It is very important that amputee patients have ‘their’ centre where they know they can have a worn foot replaced, an uncomfortable socket adjusted, a damaged shank replaced, where children can regularly have a longer leg and bigger foot fitted. The first centre was established in Nairobi, Kenya, and others followed in Zimbabwe and Uganda. Today, all of those centres are flourishing and we have further centres in Rwanda, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia with others planned for Ethiopia and Ghana. We have established second centres in Kenya and Uganda and are currently working on a second centre in Malawi. Through the Rotary ‘grapevine’ we hear of interest in Jaipur technology from other parts of Africa and await formal approaches from Rotary Clubs in those countries. The cost of A PERMANENT CENTRE varies from £12,000.00 - £ 24,000.00 depending on where it is and whether it is a ‘stand-alone’ venture or a Jaipur facility within an existing Orthopaedic unit. 7. WHAT APPLIANCES ARE MADE AND FITTED AND WHAT DO THEY COST ?
8. HOW MUCH DOES THE PATIENT PAY ? NOTHING ! All Limbs, callipers, crutches and other appliances are GIVEN FREE to the patients. In addition, during their 2 to 4 day stay in either the Permanent Centre or at a Limb Camp, all board and lodging for the patient and an able-bodied helper is FREE. Rail travel to and from treatment is also FREE with a warrant issued at the Centre or at a Camp. The Trustees are currently considering a change in this policy so far as the patient who attends a permanent centre for repairs or replacements is concerned. The reasoning being that, having received a new limb, it is usually possible for the patient to return to work and, in due time, be able to pay for on-going maintenance. 9. HOW ARE THE APPLIANCES MADE ? Originally the legs were fabricated from aluminium sheet, and there are still a few made as replacements for the older patients who have become used to them, but modern legs are made from high-density polyethylene industrial quality drainage pipe, to which the Jaipur Foot is fitted. Every leg is purpose made; a plaster mould is taken of the patient’s stump and the plastic leg heat-formed around the mould to ensure a perfect fit of the stump into the plastic socket. The foot is manufactured from a combination of wood blocks and different density rubber compounds vulcanised to produce a realistic shape. Legs for above-knee amputees are usually fitted with lockable metal hinges but we are increasingly using more sophisticated nylon joints. The Jaipur Limbs are light and flexible to allow the patients to follow their normal life style – walking, even running, over rough ground and through water, sitting cross-legged, squatting, cycling and, in some cases, driving trucks. The callipers were formerly made from high tensile steel but a recent development has seen the manufacture of moulded plastic callipers (using lightweight pipes as a raw material) with modern Velcro-type fastenings. All limbs, callipers and leprosy slippers are purpose made for each patient. 10. IS ANY ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE GIVEN TO PATIENTS TO BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT ? Many patients are able to resume their old occupations but, particularly in India, those patients who cannot, and who are assessed by the doctor in attendance as being able to resume family supportive work upon their return home, are GIVEN an economic "starter pack" such as : A portable cooker, pans and other utensils (to set up a roadside tea-stall), a sewing machine or weighing scales. 11. AMPUTEES ARE GIVEN ARTIFICIAL LIMBS - WHAT ABOUT POLIO VICTIMS ? Special callipers are made for polio patients, where appropriate, to give support to their legs to allow them to walk again. The recently-developed plastic callipers, heat moulded to individual patient leg shape and size, are very Jight in weight and allow patients to wear ordinary shoes. Unfortunately, many polio victims cannot be given callipers as their legs are too seriously mis-shapen. These patients are referred for corrective surgery, (often in Rotary supported Specialist Camps), following which they can be fitted with callipers if necessary. We are developing contacts with other organisations to establish special Calliper Camps in conjunction with Polio Corrective Surgery Camps. 12. ARE THERE ANY NEW DEVELOPMENTS ? The lightweight plastic Polio Callipers are being developed further for both above and below knee leg support. The Jaipur Foot is very hard wearing but other organisations in India are experimenting with new designs, as yet to be proven, we are watching these developments with interest. The well-established Jaipur Foot is still recognised by many International Organisations as being the best available low-cost prostheses for use in Low Income Countries and is uniquely appropriate for those who do not wear shoes. In India we are sponsoring an increasing number of Corrective Surgery camps. 13. HOW LONG DO THE LIMBS NORMALLY LAST ? A Jaipur foot can last two/three years, longer if worn with a sandal, although many have exceeded that. The legs usually outlast the feet but ‘fitting’ problems around the stump - due to natural shrinkage - can necessitate a new shank. Patients can travel to one of the Permanent Centres or to a Limb Camp for free refitting. (Although this policy is under review, see 7 above). Children's artificial legs are made with a slightly oversize socket, to accommodate growth, and lined with several layers of stockinette ‘stump-socks’ which can be progressively removed as the child grows - however - because the length of legs cannot be adjusted - it is important that young patients have access to Follow-up Camps, or a Permanent Centre, for regular leg replacement. 14. WHERE HAVE CAMPS BEEN HELD RECENTLY AND WHAT IS THE FUTURE PROGRAMME OF LIMB CAMPS IN INDIA ? Since 1990, Rotary has supported more than fifty Limb Camps in India, including those at Calcutta, Dhanbad, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Changanacherry, to mention just a few. A 1997 fact-finding tour of India by two Trustees (at no expense to the Project) confirmed that there is still a great need for support of Limb Camps and many Rotary Clubs, visited at that time, were keen to co-operate with us. The Trustees, in conjunction with the Mahaveer Society or our other specialist provider in Chennai, Mukti, draw up a programme for Camps at Purulia, Trivandrum, Vijaywada, Chandigarh, Chilakaluripet, Ambala, Renukoot, Bangalore, Changanacherry (A Millennium Project), Siliguri, Nagercoil and Quilon. Most of these projects have now been completed. Similar trips, in 2000 and 2002, more prospective camps, and the establishment of Permanent Centres, were discussed, and many of these projects are now underway. 15. WE HEAR ABOUT THE VICTIMS OF LAND MINES. CAN WE HELP ? The Trustees have discussed the possibilities of setting up Permanent Centres in countries where war and civil strife has resulted in thousands of people losing limbs due to the indiscriminate use of land-mines. We are in contact with Help Handicapped International, who are directly involved in rehabilitation of Land-mine victims in Afghanistan. Our most active involvement with land-mine victims is in the Rotary-sponsored Permanent centres at Kigali, in Rwanda, Kumi, in Uganda, and Mannar, in Sri Lanka, - all of these centres have a high proportion of land-mine victims among their patients. 16. DOES THE GOVERNMENT HELP ? Because the Rotary Jaipur Limb Project is a registered charity, we can reclaim an additional 22% of Individual donations through the Gift Aid scheme. In the last financial year we benefited by £1,415.00 from this concession. 17. WHAT HELP IS NEEDED FROM ROTARY IN GB & I? Donations from Clubs and Districts are used to help fund the work of the Permanent Limb Centres both in India and in other countries and to continue the Limb Camp programme where there are large populations of amputees. As outlined in (3), the cost of a typical Camp is £15,000. With DDF of, say, £1000 from the Local sponsor District and DDF of, say, £2000 from the International sponsor here in RIBI, together with a club contribution of £ £6,000 would attract a total Matching grant of £6,000. It is also important to remember that District Designated Funds (DDF) qualifies for 1005 Matching from RF. £6,000.00 is a very large amount for one club to raise and most projects involve two or three clubs joining forces to complete the financing. We can help in bringing these clubs together. Much of our support comes in small amounts. Out of this fund of smaller contributions we also make an annual donation of not-less-than £10,000.00 in support of the Main Limb Centre in Jaipur and provide occasional support to other Permanent Centres with proven need. We can also ‘top-up’, where necessary, funding for major projects, finance new buildings, assist with expenses of ‘trainer’ technicians establishing the new permanent centres in Africa, and meet the modest overhead expenses of the Trust. 18. WHAT HELP IS AVAILABLE TO ASSIST A CLUB IN SPONSORING A LIMB CAMP ? The Trustees act as the link between the International Sponsoring Club, usually in RIBI, and the Local Sponsoring Club. They match up Clubs in GB & I with Clubs in the project country and assist with the Project design, Project costing and other paperwork, including the Foundation Grant Application and the Final Report. The Local sponsoring Club has a responsibility to control the project money and monitor the work. The Local Clubs also organise Opening / Closing Ceremonies for the Camps and Permanent Centres (at their own expense) and invitations are usually extended to Rotarians from the International Sponsoring Club/s to attend and be part of these celebrations. 19. WHAT PUBLICITY MATERIAL IS AVAILABLE ? AND CAN WE BOOK A CLUB TALK ? Full Colour leaflets are available, from Trustees or from District International Service Chairmen, and every District International Service Chairman has at least one copy of our latest 7 minuteVideo. Trustees/Managers are located throughout RIBI (see below) and are ever willing to attend Club or District events to talk about the project, show Sample Legs / Feet and show a video. 20. WHO SHOULD ROTARY CLUBS CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR TO MAKE A DONATION TOWARDS THE ROTARY JAIPUR LIMB PROJECT ? Please see separate page marked "Donations"
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