Kiwi Generosity Helps Indian Amputee

A student in India has benefited from Kiwi generosity and been fitted with a prosthetic after a life-changing accident resulted in the loss of his leg. 

Globally, 35-40 million people require prostheses and orthoses but unlike in New Zealand many of them do not have access to the prosthetic and orthotic services. Mohammad, a 26-year-old student from Poonch, Jammu in Kashmir, was hit by an army vehicle in 2023 and was one of those people who did not have access to the prosthesis he needed.  

After initial treatment, swelling and loss of sensation in his toes, amputation was deemed necessary. Following a challenging three-month recovery, he returned home, facing dependency and interrupted education.  

He was mostly confined to his home, occasionally venturing out with crutches. Losing his leg, the inability to complete his education and losing his mobility often left him feeling depressed.  

But after attending the Hope Disability Centre in Ganderbal, Kashmir, India for an assessment he was prescribed the prosthetic limb, complete with a knee joint and carbon fibre foot donated by MEND New Zealand. The donation symbolised a new chapter of hope and renewal for Mohammed. 

MEND (Mobility Equipment for the Needs of the Disabled) is a New Zealand charity set up by Rob Buchanan in 1991 after noticing and helping a young boy in Fiji with muscular dystrophy mobilise. It provides prosthetic limbs, hearing aids, mobility aids, medical care, and rehabilitation to children and adults challenged with disability and poverty. 

Peke Waihanga contributes to the work of MEND by donating our second-hand or discontinued prosthetic and orthotic componentry to the charity to distribute to those in need.