A helping hand for child amputees

On a cold Saturday in Melbourne, the Rotary Club of Cranbourne, Vic, and nearly 100 participants from other community organisations, schools and local residents, came together to build a prosthetic hand through the Helping Hands program.

The program is a unique opportunity to get involved in a worthwhile cause, while having fun with a team of like-minded people.

Participants build prosthetic hands that are then donated to amputee landmine victims throughout the developing world. The hands have no batteries and work on a ratchet system, which allows amputees to become more independent in their lives.

PICTURED: Members of the Rotary Club of Cranbourne, Vic, recently joined teams from local secondary colleges and other community organisations to build prosthetic hands as part of the Helping Hands program. The completed prosthetics are then donated to amputee landmine victims throughout the developing world.

The participating teams actively worked together to make a lasting contribution to a person’s life. Teams received a bag of parts and an instruction manual then, with their dominant hand immobilised in a mitt, they worked together to assemble the hand, which caused much laughter and sometimes frustration among participants.

When the hands are complete, they placed in individually decorated canvas bags. The recipient learns who made the hand that will change their lives.

The Rotary Club of Cranbourne sponsored teams from local secondary colleges and other community organisations paid $500 for each team to build a hand. The outcome for the day was 27 completed hands, which will be shipped to amputee children within the next month.

“Our club knows that we can make a difference and by coming together we know that we have changed someone’s life,” said Rotary Club of Cranbourne Secretary Lloma Shaw.

For further information on the Helping Hands program, visit www.helpinghandsprogram.com.au