By Elizabeth Sellers | U.S. Director of Development
A new limb is only the beginning. What follows is learning to walk on it, caring for it, and adjusting it as life changes. This is the kind of long-term care your support helps make possible, and two recent stories from Uganda show what it looks like.
Eli, a church leader and advocate
Eli fled the war in South Sudan in 2016 and now lives in the Rhino refugee settlement in Uganda. For years he could barely leave his home, and building a house felt out of reach. In 2020, he received his first prosthetic limb through HI’s Liimba project. The first weeks were painful, but within about two months he was moving with confidence.
Today Eli walks long distances and can stand for 45 minutes while preaching to his congregation. He visits neighbors, attends community meetings, and speaks up for other people with disabilities. He also takes great care of his prosthesis, and he told us it is starting to wear out. That is why rehabilitation is never a one-time gift. People need follow-up visits, repairs, and replacement parts to keep moving.
Justine, a mother, shoemaker, and volunteer
Justine lost her left leg in a road accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo when she was 18. After violence forced her family to flee to Uganda, her prosthesis wore out, and no organization could replace it. Carrying her baby on crutches was nearly impossible. HI’s physical therapist referred her to the Liimba project, and she received a new prosthesis.
Now Justine works as a shoemaker, and she and her husband have opened a small cobbler’s workshop. She also volunteers with HI, offering basic rehabilitation support and encouragement to other people with disabilities in the Kyaka II settlement.
Why Liimba matters
Since 2006, Liimba has collected and refurbished quality used prosthetic components and sent them to rehabilitation centers in countries where prosthetic care is hard to find. Parts that might have been thrown away become the first step toward independence for people with disabilities affected in times of peace, conflict, and disaster.
Thank you for being part of this work. Your support helps people like Eli and Justine get the care and follow-up they need to keep moving forward.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
