Indian self-help group to provide artificial limbs to war victims in Iraq

New Delhi, March 15 : The famed artificial Jaipur Foot, which has enabled thousands of disabled people restart their lives in the country, is now all set to offer a healing touch to the victims of strife-torn Iraq.

On Monday, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi flagged off, a 22-member delegation of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) which embarked for Iraq where they will set up a camp.

Strife-torn Afghanistan has been sourcing artificial limbs from this Jaipur-based outfit to help war victims get rehabilitated.

'We are taking a team of 22 people to Iraq to fit 1000 amputees with 'Jaipur Foot', so that they can regain their mobility again and walk like you and me,' said D R Mehta, Founder and Chief Patron of BMVSS.

The NGO's first 'Jaipur Foot' camp in Kabul was held in 1996 at the behest of the Ministry of External affairs when it provided 1,105 artificial limbs.

Originally developed by a local orthopaedician Dr. Pramod Karan Sethi, a fellow of Britain's Royal College of Surgeons, and a sculptor named Ram Chandra, the main advantage of this prosthesis is its lightness and mobility.

Sublimely low-tech, it is mainly made of rubber, wood and aluminium and can be assembled easily.

A person fitted with this limb can walk like a normal person without a stick or support, and even run, ride a bicycle and climb a tree because the Jaipur limb has a very comfortable stump socks interface.

Patients can, after the fitment, return to work in fields, factories, shops and offices.

The low cost of this artificial limb has made it extremely popular in Afghanistan.