Recent News
[Oct. 17, 2007]
Chairman Sasakawa Examining a Prosthesis
Since 1999, the Nippon Foundation has continued to donate artificial legs to citizens of Vietnam who lost legs in the Vietnam War or in incidents afterwards involving landmines or other causes. This year, the cumulative total number of donated artificial legs reached 30,000. On September 18, a ceremony was held in the Vietnamese capital city of Hanoi to commemorate this milestone, with various participants, including users of the donated artificial limbs, calling for the program to continue.
The Nippon Foundation's distribution of artificial legs has focused on agricultural villages in central Vietnam, where most of the damage from the war and landmines has concentrated. Since 2005, the program has also aided landmine victims from ethnic minorities living in the mountainous regions of northern Vietnam. The need for artificial legs is said to be pressing in this region, where aid from the Vietnamese government is available only to retired military personnel, not to the general public.
Rural Vietnam
At the ceremony, held at the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the Nippon Foundation, promised that the artificial limbs program would continue. "The success of Vietnam's efforts to modernize and improve its people's standard of living is commendable. But one area remains in the shadows. This area is encouraging society's weaker members, including those with disabilities, and activities that will help them return to active roles in society. People with disabilities have both the motivation and the energy to work. The Nippon Foundation wants to work in Vietnam on behalf of those disadvantaged in this way."
Also in attendance at the ceremony were those who had lost legs in war or in traffic accidents. Dong Thi Dung (age: 44), who lost his right leg in a traffic accident in January 2002, was a farmer before the accident but now earns a living as a tailor. His energy has returned since receiving an artificial leg in December 2006. "I'm not the only one," he noted. "There are many others who need artificial legs, and I hope this program will reach them."
Nguyen Ti Hang and (left) and Dong Thi Dung (center)--recipients of artificial legs
"I'm very grateful to be able to receive this artificial leg just three months after my accident," said Nguyen Ti Hang (age: 29), whose left leg was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident in January of this year.
Ca Van Tran of Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH), which provides local support for this project, described the continuing high demand for provision of artificial legs. "We publicize this program via television and radio, but many people in mountainous regions still haven't heard of it."
The Nippon Foundation is focusing on training prosthetists and orthotists who can build artificial arms and legs for people in Asia's developing nations. The Foundation has supported the development of a prosthetics and orthotics (P/O) school network (SAPOS: Strategic Alliance of Prosthetic Orthotic Schools) in the Asia region since 2005. The first regional meeting was held in September 2005, and it was met with a good reaction by the Asian P/O society due to its emphasis upon the support of information sharing and the transfer of technology. The program of providing free artificial legs in Vietnam is part of the Foundation's project to assist those with disabilities in Asia.
Related Links
- Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped
- This item originally appeared in The Nippon Foundation's Blogzine