9 year old attacked by cattle rustlers rescued and gets prosthetic hand
At the beginning of the new Rotary year on a sunny morning, members of Nairobi Utumishi Rotary Club (NURC) met Alkano, 9 year old Rendille boy at the Shalom OVC in Mitunguu, Meru which is run by Father Francis. Shalom OVC which is an institution that takes in orphaned and vulnerable children and currently has 800 children.
Alkano had been at the institution for about 10 days after being rescued and could only speak in Turkana language. He had been attacked by cattle rustlers who had raided their home resulting with him having one arm amputated and the other burnt with only a thumb left. Rotarian Dr. Mussadiq Mir who is in charge of fixing prosthetic hands in the club had a look at his hands and recommended that his left hand could be fitted with a prosthetic hand.
On the day Alkano was to have his prosthetic hand fitted, he was escorted by his best friend and other students from Shalom. The procedure took a while because they had to all understand how to put it on and remove it.
The highlight of this moment was when Alkano could finally hold a cup and a spoon and bring them to his lips meaning that for the first time in a long while, he could feed himself. Alkano was so over- joyed and happy with his new hand that he could not stop laughing. He was so grateful that he gave a big hug to Dr. Mir and followed him around as members of Nairobi Utumishi Rotary Club (NURC) did a tour of the Shalom OVC Institution.
The NURC team had traveled to Meru County and were hosted by RC Nkubu to fit prosthetic hands in Maua. The held a camp at the Methodist Church and fitted 80 hands for both single and double amputees. The amputations are as a result of birth defects, domestic violence, chaff grass cutter accidents, road accidents and punishment for stealing miraa. The prosthetic hands had been donated by Hands on Project in conjunction with Rotary Clubs from Australia.
The LN-4 prosthetic hand project is a collaboration of Nairobi Utumishi Rotary Club with Rotary Clubs in D5110 & D5160 in Oregan USA. This came about after industrial designer Ernie Meadows and his wife Marj lost their 18 year old daughter Ellen in an automobile accident and Ernie set out to create a legacy to her memory. Over time he developed an affordable prosthetic hand to help those who had lost a hand and could not afford other alternatives. In 2006 Ernie gave the prosthetic hand to Rotarians, asking only that no one profit from its production or distribution and that no recipient ever be charged for its use.
