People who survive the accidental explosion of landmines and other left-behind ordnance in war-torn countries often lose not only one or more limbs, but also many of their best prospects for employment. Now, thanks to an initiative by the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise (COPE), and the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), some people in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), have a chance to reclaim a livelihood from the very devices that claimed their limbs.
Through the initiative, two prosthetists from the NRC have begun producing metal-free prosthetic legs that don’t interfere with the metal detectors used by mine-clearing technicians. People with amputations who wear the new limbs would be eligible to become deminers through MAG and other groups.
David Hayter, MAG’s Laos country program manager, said on maginternational.com, “Following a UXO [unexploded ordnance] accident, survivors may have limited options for employment, particularly if they have lost a limb. However, our experience in Cambodia is that amputee deminers are as able as anyone else under most conditions. Ten percent of MAG Cambodia’s staff are amputees.” MAG has committed to having at least six percent of its total staff in Laos be people with disabilities, and 35 percent be women.
The NRC prosthetists learned to make the metal-free limbs in a course conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Battambang, Cambodia. The project was funded by the Japanese foundation ITO Supporting Comity, which also helped MAG purchase three metal detectors.
