Why Build?

Why Build?

by | Aug 20, 2020 | Uncategorized

In coming to Myanmar, our goal was to open a fitting centre to help people with disabilities, and here we are at the big first step with a project to build our future orthopedic workshop. Initially, looking for premises to rent, we could hardly imagine starting our activity with the construction of a building. So then, the question is : why build?

After visiting several rental locations, we found that renting was not really the best for various reasons: unsuitable premises for people in wheelchairs, high remodeling costs, or leases that are only made from year to year with no guarantee that the rent wouldn’t skyrocket the following year. But if we build, there is a chance to recover the cost of the invested capital over a few years with an initial investment which corresponds to a rent of 5-6 years.

 

 

From then on, we turned to buying land, and our local partner found us a great place to start the business with a flat location, which is rare in the mountainous region we live in. It is easily accessible and has a great potential for development, both at the level of the company itself and in the possibility of seeing other community development projects emerge in the future.

The decision to buy the land was therefore not very difficult, and we were rather encouraged to be able to move forward in our dream of one day seeing a fitting centre in the region. Providing a disabled person with a tool, such as a prosthesis, to allow them to regain autonomy and dignity, motivates us enormously. We are aware that this dream could come true without the trust and generosity of our friends overseas. We feel privileged to be in this partnership with you. This allows us to embrace the vision of which you are part.

A Training With Few Means

A Training With Few Means

by | Dec 20, 2019 | Lower Limbs

Time is flying; it’s already been one month since our adventure in the jungle.

We went there for about ten days to a village with an orthopedic workshop that was created in order to help people who lost their limbs because of the civil war and landmines. Our goal was to encourage them in their work and give them tools to deepen their professional knowledge by presenting testing various techniques.

Most of the technicians who work there have lost a limb themselves. They make the prosthesis with the resources at hand, which means with minimum equipment.

What is most impressive is that they can make a prosthesis without electricity, which is no simple task. Observing them at first, I asked myself what I could bring to them in their specific context, since they have such an incredible freedom of movement…

Indeed, I saw them climb over walls or carry a person on their back with their artificial limb despite their amputation. I also asked them if they had any pain with their prosthesis and they tended to answer that everything was fine and that patients usually get used to their artificial limbs. We are far from the concept of having a prosthesis that has to fit the patient.

However, as things progressed, we clearly saw what elements we could bring, and we were able to start the training.

During that time, I have been challenged in the way I say things, especially as I saw them work. Culturally it is rude to point to out a mistake; it’s as if you were saying that the person had no skills. This reminded me of some advice I got from a Swiss friend who has been working in Myanmar for more than ten years. He told me that he managed his team by asking questions so that in the end, the people had to think about what they were doing and find the solution themselves. It’s really a great concept, however difficult for me to put into practice, as I like to say things as they are! But by being sensitive to this and trying it, I could see their trust and respect growing daily and in the end, I had more freedom to give them advice.

One of the technicians asked me if I could make him a new prosthesis and beyond the joy of being able to work again, I was grateful to have the opportunity to show them new techniques in a very practical way in order for them to improve their skills and knowledge. When the time came to try it out, I was relieved and thankful because he adopted the new prosthesis straight away. If not, the new techniques would have lost their credibility.