The Rotary Club of Gros Islet Prosthetic Limb Legacy Project Kicks Into High Gear!
This year 2018/2019, the Rotary Club of Gros Islet embarked on a project to enhance the capacity of the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD) through their Prosthetic Repair Workshop. The island of Saint Lucia has seen a steady increase in the number of amputees, mostly as a result of diabetes and also road traffic injuries. The NCPD has not been able to keep up with the demand, limited by manpower and innovation challenges. At best, perhaps only one or two prosthetic limb could be produced per week and even then, the costs were prohibitive and materials rudimentary. Only one prosthetic limb technician was available at the workshop which was located in Vieux Fort.
The Rotary Club of Gros Islet therefore undertook to build the capacity of the NCPD by sponsoring the training of additional persons who would become skilled in carrying out the assessments of amputees and manufacture the appropriate prosthetic limb, in the first instance, for simple ambulation and eventually, for more athletic uses. Of course, over time, limbs will also require adjustment or maintenance which would necessitate skilled personnel on hand to provide this service.
A certified prosthetist was identified in the United States, Mr. James de Wees, who himself is also an amputee and owns and operates his own prosthetic clinic in the US. Mr. de Wees visited the NCPD workshop in June 2018 to assess its potential for a clinic and the level of readiness of the identified technicians. From a total of sixteen (16) persons, the final number of trainees has whittled down to four (4). Equipment was sourced and procured through the kindness of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
During the months of June to December 2018, the Rotary Club of Gros Islet worked closely with Winchester Rotary and with the tremendous and generous support of Rotarian Richard Spalding and his colleague, Alasdair Gilbertson, prosthetist of the Portsmouth Prosthetic Centre, a prosthetic limb was sourced for a male individual who is now employed as a driver! The success of this trial run to source limbs for underprivileged or low income persons was just the motivation required to push this project through.
Winchester Rotary went one step further and endowed the RCGI with sponsorship of £2,000 towards a diabetic youth training camp which will seek to raise awareness among young persons of the importance of healthy lifestyles and management of the disease. Thank you President Les!
The prosthetic repair workshop has now been relocated to Carellie, Castries in more spacious and accommodating facilities with all the required equipment to facilitate increased production of limbs.
NCPD for its part has expressed its immense gratitude to the Rotary Club of Gros Islet for this initiative. According to Mr. Merphilius James, President, the NCPD, "are in need of greater support in securing materials for prosthetic limbs and in the proper training of a small number of amputees to become basic prosthetic limb technicians. The demand for basic artificial limbs by the growing number of poor amputees, particularly due to diabetes, is significant. This programme has amazing scope for expansion and development."
On February 6, 2019, Mr. de Wees arrived in Saint Lucia and work on setting up the workshop commenced in earnest. The trainees have also commenced training in casting, using each other as experiments. On completion of the training which ends on February 20, 2019, the trainees will be employed by the NCPD to continue to provide services to amputees in Saint Lucia.
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To complete this phase of the project, Rtn. Richard is expected to arrive in Saint Lucia with a crate of approximately thirty (30) prosthetic limbs to be donated to the NCPD for its underprivileged clients.
The RCGI is pleased to be associated with this project as it not only improves the mobility of amputees, it enhances their opportunities for employment, restores their dignity and is very importantly, sustainable.
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Now who remembers this scene? 
Just two of my favourite images of South Island, New Zealand. Sunrise on the Southern Ocean and iconic Mount Cook.
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