India: in two towns; training of specialists making prostheses and ortheses
and donation of prostheses to particularly poor victims of severe handicaps.
Required amount: 189,900
Received: 100
COUNTRY India REGION - Bangalore, Karnataka State, south-west India - Vellore, Tamil Nadu State, south-west India
PROBLEM While India has achieved real development in some fields, its huge population is a challenge and vast numbers of people still live in poverty. The poor are particularly vulnerable, especially if they are also physically handicapped. They are excluded from society in general and from work in particular, surviving mainly by begging.
PURPOSE OF THE ACTION The action aims to restore mobility to handicapped people, as a means of enabling them to rejoin society and participate in economic activity. They will be able to use the services of local rehabilitation centres, comprising physiotherapy and the provision of artificial limbs and orthotic devices. The appliances will be maintained and replaced throughout the lifetime of the user.
Specifically, the action will:
provide physically handicapped people in the Bangalore and Vellore areas with rehabilitation services, including physiotherapy and artificial limbs or orthotic devices;
ensure that the appliances provided are maintained and replaced, both now and in the future;
maintain and improve the quality of patient care in the centres at Bangalore and Vellore;
help people with disabilities to rejoin society and earn a living;
support the training of Indian ortho-prosthetists to international standards;
ensure that the centres in Bangalore and Vellore can continue to operate long-term.
The training of specialists will create employment, while restoring mobility will allow large numbers of severely deprived people to rejoin society and earn a living; in other words, this project includes a development element.
WHO WILL BENEFIT? Bangalore - Each year:
- approximately 200 handicapped people will be equipped with an artificial limb or an orthotic device;
- 20 students will follow training courses and receive training materials.
Vellore - Each year:
- approximately 200 handicapped people will be equipped with an artificial limb or an orthotic device;
- 10 students will follow training courses and receive training materials.
DURATION OF THE PROJECT DonationPixel intends to support this project for three years. At the end of that period, the ICRC's Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) will continue the support activities if necessary, to capitalize on the skills acquired by the prosthetists who have undergone training through the project.
AMOUNT REQUIRED:
US$ 190'000
FURTHER INFORMATION
Great poverty India has developed greatly, and in some respects can now be compared with China. Nonetheless, the country still faces many problems, such as overpopulation, degradation of the environment, ethnic and religious tensions and wide-spread poverty. 40% of the population over the age of 15 still cannot read or write.
Tragic situation of handicapped people People with disabilities are among those most likely to suffer the poverty so common in the population as a whole. Indeed, they barely survive. Poor people are more likely to be handicapped and handicapped people are more likely to be poor. Less than 10% of handicapped people in India have access to physical rehabilitation services.
Restoring the mobility of a handicapped person is essential if they are to rejoin society and earn a living.
DonationPixel has decided to support a project that will be particularly valuable because of its double effect:
- the humanitarian action (providing artificial limbs and orthotic devices) will benefit a large number of people immediately;
- the project constitutes a long-term development activity, as it includes the training of prosthetists, who are essential to the provision of high quality, long term rehabilitation services.
Partnerships and supervision DonationPixel intends to support this project for three years, in cooperation with the ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled, which will monitor the activities in general. On the spot, the Special Fund operates with recommended local organizations and institutions. In Bangalore, the partner is Mobility India, a relatively new organization specializing in the training of physical rehabilitation specialists. In Vellore, the partner organization will be the Christian Medical College, a hospital with a long-standing reputation for the training of medical and para-medical staff, especially ortho-prosthetists.
The ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD) is sponsoring similar projects in various countries. In India, the SFD has already provided material and financial assistance for orthopaedic workshops in Bangalore and Vellore. A specialist regularly visits the centres to help them with technical matters. However, the SFD lacks the funds to continue the project in a satisfactory manner, or to expand it. This is why DonationDixel wishes to support this project.
The project includes follow-up. This includes repairing artificial limbs/orthotic devices and replacing them every three to five years – more frequently in the case of growing children.
The International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) not only works to ensure compliance with the Geneva Conventions in situations of conflict, it also protects and assists the victims of those conflicts. As part of that work, the ICRC has been running physical rehabilitation centres for many years. The organization has therefore amassed exceptional experience in this field, experience from which the SFD has been benefiting for two decades..
The centres Mobility India was founded in Bangalore in 1994 to help meet the need for physical rehabilitation in rural India. Its vision: a varied society in which handicapped people have equal rights and enjoy quality of life. Apart from providing physical assistance to handicapped people, Mobility India organizes training courses based on WHO recommendations. These last between one and three years, and are attended by approximately 45 people each year.
The Christian Medical College (CMC), was set up at the end of the 19th century as a small hospital. Over time, it has developed into a reference centre for treatment and training, covering the entire area. It provides hundreds of people with regular physical rehabilitation services. The CMC does not discriminate on religious or ethnic grounds. In addition to providing services, the CMC offers three-year training courses for prosthetists.
Partner organisation ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled (SFD), Geneva, Switzerland
Budgetary elements
US $
Material assistance from the SFD for the Bangalore and Vellore centres, covering preparatory physiotherapy, the making of prostheses, adaptation and follow-up
116,200
Training/specialization of trainers, course materials (3 x 6 weeks)
53,800
Sub-total 2006 – 2008
(89.47%)
170,000
DonationPixel’s expenses for the support:
- Travel expenses, reports
3,400
- Administration, management at the seat, translation
4,400
- Computer support and legal advice, management of the website, information
3,500
- Provision for change, miscellaneous and unexpected expenses
3,000
Sub-total
(7.53%)
14,300
- Transfers and CC expenses
5,700
Sub-total
(3%)
5,700
Total
(100%)
190,000
Control A DonationPixel representative will visit the SFD projects.
Audit An external auditor (KPMG Fides Peat) audits the accounts of the SFD every year and their report is submitted to the Council of the SFD. All of the SFD’s donors (including DonationPixel) receive a copy of this report.
Reports
Text and photos will be published on DonationPixel’s website every three months.
The audit report from KPMG Fides Peat will be presented to DonationPixel each year.
The final report of the Special Fund (including text, photos and accounts) will be presented to DonationPixel at the end of their participation.
provide physically handicapped people in the Bangalore and Vellore areas with rehabilitation services, including physiotherapy and artificial limbs or orthotic devices;
