For two decades, Sri Lanka has found its
lifeblood draining dangerously away at the
hands of a violent civil war between the
established government and the LTTE, an
organization that represents the Tamil
minority in the north of the country. Today,
though an insecure ceasefire has been in
effect for nearly three years, a peace treaty
that satisfies both sides has yet to be signed.

The toll that this has taken on the country is horrendous. Tens of
thousands of people have died. As of 2004, 362,000 people are
estimated to be living as refugees, either in India or in safer
regions of Sri Lanka itself.(1) And of those who remain, a
shocking number have been made amputees from, among other things,
landmines.

Carson Harte, international director of The Cambodia Trust,
estimates that there are currently 160,000 amputees living in Sri
Lanka. However, the number of specialists who can build prostheses
for these people currently numbers only 5.(2)

One prosthetist/orthotist for every 32,000 people who need one.

Fortunately, one of Asia's most highly-evaluated organizations has
decided to take steps to address this problem. The Cambodia Trust
was established in Oxford, UK in 1989. To date, the Trust has
focussed on rehabilitation, community development and training
projects in Cambodia, a country which has one of the largest
disabled populations in the world.

This ISO-accredited organization's mission is to enable
disadvantaged disabled people to participate in the normal life of
the community. The Trust aims to empower disabled people so they
can break the cycle of poverty and live self-sufficient lives,
with equal access to education and employment opportunities. It
does this through rehabilitation, advocacy, capacity building,
training and community development.

From the end of January 2005, The Cambodia Trust will begin
branching out beyond Cambodia's borders in a major way, with the
establishment of the Sri Lankan School of Prosthetics and
Orthotics. This school, based on the similarly-named and
unquestionably successful Cambodian School of Prosthetics and
Orthotics, will open its doors next month to 15 students. These
people will then begin a 3-year course from which they will
graduate as fully-qualified specialists in the fitting of
artificial limbs and braces. The trust has spent the past four
years preparing for this opening, and is justifiably excited.

The Nippon Foundation is also thrilled to be able to support the
establishment of this school, because of the unquestionably
positive impact it will have on the lives of the people living in
a land that has seen so much difficulty in recent years.

AS Project Director Mike Scott says, "This is a big step in the
right direction, to ensure there are enough Sri Lankan specialists
to provide the rehabilitation services so urgently needed by
disabled people."

For more information, please visit the website of the Cambodia
Trust via the link below: