Lending a leg to change your life

Monday, 24 November 2014 00:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Mobility is a great gift we all enjoy but some of our brothers and sisters are deprived of mobility due to no fault of theirs. They are rendered mobile with the generosity and sacrifice of the Rotary Clubs from RI D-3140, Mumbai (India). Rotary International as a movement of service to humanity has linked up with the Rotary Club of Capital City and Rotary Clubs from Mumbai to meet the needs and provide limbs to those immobile in Sri Lanka.

A few years ago the Colombo Friend In Need Society (CFINS) sought the assistance of the Rotary Club of Capital City, RI D-3220, Sri Lanka and Maldives to help upgrade their products. The Rotarians then came aboard joining hands in an International Jaipur Foot Prosthetic Limb Project between India and Sri Lanka, to give mobility to amputees in Sri Lanka. This project began in 2012 and has been continued annually to donate 300 Jaipur Foot Limbs. This year on 24 November the Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Bombay Airport, Rotary Club of Bombay Seacoast, Rotary Club of Mumbai Nariman Point, Rotary Club of Mumbai Versora, Rotary Club of Bombay Bandra and Rotary Club of Mumbai Juhu will be manufacturing 1,000 Jaipur Foot Limbs now known as the Bombay Leg. As Rotarians we appreciate the contribution made by the Colombo Friend-In-Need Society in this noble project. The Colombo Friend-In-Need Society established in 1831 (180 years ago), is the oldest Charitable Organisation in Sri Lanka. The Jaipur Foot Program administered by CFINS, is the main provider of prosthetic limbs and orthotic appliances to disabled persons in Sri Lanka. It runs a prosthetic/orthotic workshop in central Colombo, where disabled persons come in to get custom-fitted artificial limbs, developed under the Jaipur foot technique and give them a new lease of life. At the Mobile Prosthetic Limbs camp held in Ampara, 71 amputees were attended to. For the first time in its history, introduction of plastic sockets were possible due to the availability of Bombay components. Previously the manufacture of plastic sockets had been tedious and impractical. The Bombay limb was a lighter product than hitherto used, with less time consumed in production, less costly and more comfortable for the patient. We have had the opportunity to assist the CFINS in the Mobile Prosthetics Limbs Camps held in Trincomalee, Bibile, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Ampara, Mullaitivu and Minneriya with the support of the Rotarians from Mumbai, India and Calgary Canada. We look forward to supporting CFINS in this noble project in the years to come together with the support of the Rotary family. For more information one can contact the CFNIS Administrative Secretary on 112421651 to lend you a leg to change your life!

Navy arrests 14 Tamil Nadu fishermen

Sri Lanka Navy yesterday arrested 14 Indian fishermen along with their three trawlers for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary line and fishing in the country’s waters. Sri Lankan Navy personnel in a naval craft attached to the Northern Naval Command have arrested the 14 Indian fishermen along with the three fishing trawlers in the seas off the coast of Jaffna’s Delft islet this morning at around 10 am local time, Naval spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said. The arrested fishermen have been handed over to the officials of the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources at Karainagar in Jaffna for further action, the Navy said. Indian fisheries officials said the fishermen belonged to Rameswaram and Jagadipattinam in Pudukkottai district. The arrest comes a day the Navy reportedly chased away more than 20 fishermen Rameswaram who were fishing in mid-sea near the maritime borders. Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan court Friday ordered to further remand 24 Indian fishermen from Tamil Nadu until December 05 on charges of illegally entering Sri Lankan waters.