A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to visit
a factory where prosthetic limbs are made for amputees. Two gentlemen,
Oliver from France and Sakti from India explained the process to us. Both men
had a background in biomedical technology.
It was very interesting to see how the limbs
were molded, casted, then put in the oven to bake. We saw both legs and hands
being made. The opening and closing of the artificial hands are controlled by a
wire that is connected to the shoulder and operated with shoulder muscle movement. When you pull
the shoulders back or retract the muscles in the shoulders you can make the
fingers on the hand open and shut. The prosthetic hand was capable of
picking up a pen. Then there is also a mechanism that can be attached to
the hand that makes it possible for the person to write.
Last Monday and Tuesday we went to Jogjakarta
where our NGO partner, the Yayasan Peduli Tuna Daksa, was measuring and fitting
100 patients with prosthetic limbs.
The fees for which were covered by our church's humanitarian fund.
It was amazing to see the people come in, some
using old artificial legs, others using worn out wooden crutches, many using
wheelchairs of various vintage. We saw
one wheelchair with a piece of wood for a seat. To see the individuals leave using a new prosthetic leg was heart warming.
Many got out to their motorcycle, took off their leg, and either tied it
to their back, or had someone else drive and they held their leg in front of
them. We heard many stories of men/women that had lost their legs in
motorcycle accidents and from falls resulting in broken bones. Others were the result of congenital defects.
One great grandmother that I ( Eileen) became
especially fond of had been run over by a bus many years ago. She said
the bus didn't even stop for her. At one point while her leg was being
fitted I was on one side of her helping steady her, but she started to lose her
balance. Another sweet young lady with only one leg, grabbed her own crutch
and helped steady the woman from the other side. There seemed to be a
unity among the clients/patients from their common affliction and experience. The
great grandmother invited me to her home to eat. I told her I lived in Jakarta,
so I wouldn’t be able to come. However, I was
able to introduce her to another senior missionary couple from Australia named
the Barnards who live in Jogjakarta and they became friends.
The limbs were being fitted and new clients
were being measured in a place called Mandiri Craft. The term Mandiri in
Indonesian means “independent.” Independence and self-reliance are basic
principle we try and teach in our church.
You cannot help others until you are independent yourself. I was
very impressed as I talked with Slamet Tarjono, the director of Mandiri Craft. This store and workshop was created in 2003.
Each of the individuals working in this operation has some kind of
disability and yet has been trained to make saleable products. Many of
the crafts are from woodworking. Once someone is trained they are encouraged
to start working from their own home and sell through the common store. It was
a great lesson in self-sufficiency, to see those that some might consider
incapable demonstrating how capable they really can be.
Russell and I bought several children's toys
that we thought our grandchildren would like to play with. Maybe just having them in the apartment will
make it seem more like home. The products appeared to be of good quality and reasonably priced. We observed the
workers, many in wheelchairs, taking pieces of timber, cutting and sanding the
wood into shapes and then spray painting the pieces into darling little
children's toys. The company sells a variety of things, including hand
carved nativity sets. Sister Smith bought one, and we would like to buy some.
We are still trying to figure out how best to transport things home. If
any of you are interested in their products or would like to help them market
their goods their web site is www.mandiricrafts.org.
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| THIS MOTHER'S NAME MEANS TENSION, BUT SHE SAID SHE HAS NEVER BEEN TENSE IN HER LIFE |
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| MOTHER GETTING FITTED WITH HER FIRST DAUGHTER PATIENTLY WAITING |
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| THIS MOM'S WHEELCHAIR WITH WOOD SEAT |
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| WORKERS MAKING CRAFTS |
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