Students changing lives of amputees
A BRIGHT group of Roma students have taken part in a life-changing global project to help make a positive difference in the daily lives of amputees.
Students from Roma State College joined Origin Energy Foundation volunteers to assemble prosthetic hands for amputees who have lost limbs in landmine explosions and other accidents.
Once assembled, the prosthetics were placed in a keep case decorated by the students, and then packaged with a personal message from the team involved to the unknown recipient.
Year 12 student Dylan Ogden said it was great that he was able to help others.
“I believe that everyone that took part has a new appreciation for our hands that we normally just take for granted. Knowing that what we have done today will change someone’s life tomorrow is a great feeling,” he said.
There are an estimated 300,000 landmine-related amputees in the world, and few are able to afford the cost of a prosthetic hand, which ranges from $3000 to $250,000.
Students were also asked to try tying their shoelaces with one hand and then their non-dominant hand as part of the project, giving insight into the realities of life without a limb.
Roma State College senior science teacher Monique Jones said it was rewarding to see students use the skills acquired in their biology class to make a real-world difference.
“All the students raved about the program and said it was one of the best programs they have ever been involved in during their senior school,” she said.
Volunteering program manager
Ruth Lee said the hands would be distributed by charity partners in developing countries to allow recipients to participate in school, work and community life.
“The construction of the hands is reasonably complex and something most students would never attempt in their daily life,” she said. “Many students think engineering is just about building the tallest building, they have never really thought about biomedical engineering.”