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On January 20th 2009, in Makeni, Sierra Leone, over 200 people attended the dedication of a new prosthetics center funded by the Prosthetics Outreach Foundation. Named the Kendall Barker Clinical Rehabilitation Building, the facility meets an urgent need in a country populated with thousands of amputee victims of a 10-year civil war which ended in 2002.
The new building is fully equipped to provide upper and lower limb prosthetics, lower limb orthotics, clubfoot casts and braces, as well as physical therapy. Most of the consumable materials used to fabricate prosthetic devices are obtained locally, including plaster, bandages, leather, metal and fasteners.
The center serves all walk-in patients from the province surrounding Makeni. Via mobile outreach, it also serves 4 additional Northern districts.
Approximately 2,000 square feet in size, the building has its own electric generator, water supply and sewer system. It houses a complete prosthetics and orthotics workshop including fabricating equipment.
The building includes rooms for patient exams, workshops, plaster and plastic work, machining, physical therapy, conferencing, patient reception and waiting. It also has restrooms, an uncommon feature for local buildings.
A staff of 8 people works onsite, including a trained prosthetist/manager, Mr. Bambino Suma, 2 locally trained technicians, a therapy assistant, an engineering assistant, an office manager, a security person, and a driver. In 2008, the staff fitted a total of 136 amputees and orthotic patients with new devices, while another 60 patients received prosthetic and orthotic repairs.
The opening and dedication ceremony was attended by POF Board members and staff, the Barker family, local leaders, and representatives of the Sierra Leone government. Dr. Ibrahim Bundu, Director of the Makeni Government Hospital, served as master of ceremonies and translator. Children from SOS Village, a group which cares for war orphans, sang and danced in praise. Upon its opening, the Building became a Department of the new Makeni Government Hospital. |
