The Jaipur Foot Artificial Limb Fitment Camp was inaugurated in Serei Saophoan city of Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey Province. The camp in the Polytechnic Institute, Cambodia is sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, under its ‘India for Humanity’ program and is being implemented by Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), Jaipur, the makers of the world-famous Jaipur Foot. BMVSS is the world’s largest organization for the rehabilitation of lower-limb handicapped persons.
Phum Sophakmonkal, Vice President, Cambodian Mine Action Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA), Um Reatyea, the Provincial Governor, and other prominent Cambodian dignitaries participated at the inauguration ceremony from the Cambodian side and Dr. Devyani Khobragade, Ambassador of India to Cambodia represented India. Satish Mehta, Executive President, represented Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, Jaipur. Satish Mehta has been India’s ambassador to Kuwait.
Vice President of CMAA Sophakmonkal, thanked the Indian Government for helping the Divyangs (handicapped)of Cambodia and lauded the work done by BMVSS. He stressed the need for this collaboration to continue in the future to help a large number of amputees of Cambodia, mainly victims of mines and unexploded munition.
On behalf of BMVSS, Satish Mehta assured that his team of 13 technicians will provide 650 limbs fitment and that BMVSS would be happy to hold more camps if called upon doing so. He also offered to provide Jaipur Foot technology and know-how to Cambodia to set up a center as also train Cambodian technicians in Jaipur Foot technology at its main center in Jaipur. He thanked the Government of India for its generous assistance in the last few years under its ‘India for Humanity’ program to rehabilitate Divyangs around the world. He also expressed his gratitude to CMAA, provincial authorities and the Indian Embassy for providing all the support for the camp.
The dignitaries saw the limb-making process and expressed admiration that a perfect-fitting limb could be made in a day and in one-month BMVSS will now rehabilitate 650 amputees. They handed over custom-made Jaipur Foot Artificial limbs to some Divyangs of Cambodia, who ran and rode a bicycle to demonstrate the quality of the limbs and the fitment.
The founder and the chief patron of the BMVSS said in Jaipur that the ‘India for Humanity’ program was launched to commemorate the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi in 2018 by late External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Under this program over 11,000 Divyangs in 20 countries in Asia, Africa and Pacific Islands have already been rehabilitated, exemplifying India’s belief in its age-old ethos ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbhkam’ – meaning ‘the world is a family’.
