Jaipur Foot Prosthesis for People in Angola

Reporting on a GBGM project for amputees in Angola called the Jaipur Foot Prosthesis, Sarla Lall gave colleagues a background on the history of this work. While on a field visitation with missionary Rosetta Brown (assigned as a medical worker by GBGM), Lall observed the ever-increasing need for artificial limbs among men, women and children of the war-torn region. Following consultation with Bishop Emilio de Carvalho of Western Angola, and Zebediah Marewangepo, executive secretary for connectional relations, the decision was made to seek means of working on this health issue. Bishop de Carvalho directed GBGM staff to approach government officials with expression of interest in providing help in this area. Sarla Lall and related staff of GBGM coordinated efforts for a community-based health care program that would not only provide artificial limbs, but would train local persons to make these replacements.

    A technician (left) instructs an Angolan trainee (center) on how to shape the calf of an artificial leg while another technician works on a similar prosthesis.

With knowledge of prosthesis work developed by Dr. P.K. Sathi in India, Lall secured the services of health care consultants Drs. Mabelle and Raj Arole of India, who began the work in July of 1998. Patients were measured for prostheses in a local church and the artificial limbs were made in the garage of the missionary residence. Recipients of prostheses returned to the church and were fitted at the altar.

Lall, who brought a model of a prosthesis to illustrate the materials used for making the artifical limbs, spoke of the cost-effectiveness of the particular material and of shipping supplies from India as opposed to buying them on site in Angola.

Final comments were on the need of sensitivity in understanding cultural issues around who is served in a program of this nature. While men, women and children have all fallen victim to the devastation of landmine accidents in Angola, men who have been victims of war are the first to be given services by the government. Cognizant of this, Lall said that the initial effort was to help women and children first but that cultural sensitivities made this impossible. She stressed, however, that there is intentionality in the program to assure that women and children not be bypassed in the prosthesis distribution program of GBGM. This is important, she emphasized, in that it is women who perform all the household tasks and much of the agriculture work.

    This group of women are among those receiving artificial limbs through the Jaipur Foot/Prosthesis Program in Angola.

Progress continues with local trainees and there are plans for the India team to return. Lall also told of long-range plans to send additional medical workers to assist missionary Brown, who is assigned for follow-up exams and any problems experienced as result of the attached prostheses. USAID has expressed interested in collaborative efforts in this work that has been started by GBGM with hopes of expansion to other regions.

Top

New Development and Opportunities in Mission Institutions

Following introduction of executive secretarties who relate to various mission institutions of the Board, Anne Unander and her colleagues gave updates on significant events taking place. They shared how cutbacks in government and charitable funds have impacted many Methodist-related institutions and how natural disasters such as the recent Hurricane Georges have limited services of some community projects.

In regard to the hurricane crisis, staff noted that an immediate observation is that the numbers of persons listed by government officials as living below the poverty line are far greater than officially registered. Fallout of natural disasters reveal that there are many uncounted persons living in multiple family settings and others surviving on the street. According to reports from directors of United Methodist-related centers, these persons only surface when there are natural disasters like the recent hurricane.

Reporting on the impact of cutbacks in government and charitable financial commitments, staff said that efforts are being made to hold programs together. Some services have been reduced. There are institutions that have been temporarily closed for reorganization, such as the Bethlehem Community Center in Columbia, South Carolina. A task force of individuals from local United Methodist Women, GBGM, and other residents of the community was formed to work on re-organization of Bethlehem Center, which is expected to reopen in January of 1999.

In addition to its ongoing efforts of outreach to at-risk children; after-school programs; and programs to prevent violence, drug abuse, and teen pregnancy, new and innovative programs are being established such as the music and cultural enrichment program at St. Mark's Community Center in New Orleans and the special program designed for hearing-impaired children at United Methodist Community Center in Youngstown, Ohio.

Stressing the importance of empowering future generations, staff told of specific programs that employ and teach business skills, such as the restaurant at St. Mark's and the youth-wing of a credit union recently established in Columbia, South Carolina.

In order to make the best use of resources, United Methodist-related institutions collaborate with existing community-based services when and where possible. Much of the work of the denomination s national institutions has been acknowledged by the secular press and continues to receive community awards and recognition, such as Wesley Child Care Center in Cincinnati, recently awarded accreditation by the National Association of Education for Young Children (NAEYC), a distinction shared with only 5% of early childhood programs nationally.

A General Board of Global Ministries resource book, Building Bridges , gives personal testimony and stories of persons whose lives have been changed by work of national mission institutions of The United Methodist Church and tells how these programs can be supported. Information on this resource can be found at http://gbgm-umc.org/resources/break3.html.