With great anticipation we waited for August when we had our next mission to the Orthopedic Workshop of the Inhambane Provincial Hospital, in Mozambique. Haven previously undertaken missions to Pemba, Nampula and Queilimane, our passion was driven by SwissABILITY’s commitment to train as many technicians in the nation as possible. For this reason, we did not limit ourselves to the technicians of Inhambane but also invited rehabilitation professionals from the cities of Vilanculo, Manjacaze, Maputo (from the Instituto de Ciências de Saúde) and South Africa. This served to solidify SwissABILITY’s future partnerships in Mozambique.
It was an intense training, rich in passion and dedication, during which everyone gave 100% to learn the new technologies taught by our Mozambican trainers, Henrique Matsinhe and Isabel Campos. At the end of the training week, the ten trained technicians returned home with the awareness of having acquired important knowledge that will make life easier for people with disabilities. And with a strong desire to get to work and consolidate what they have learned.
It was also an opportunity to donate prosthetics to as many as 11 people with disabilities. People such as Maria, a victim of domestic violence: in fact, Maria is missing both her leg below the knee and her forearm. As a young mother of five children, her husband began to physically abuse her, following an argument. When she tried to escape, he grabbed a knife and started stabbing her. He severed her arm completely, then he continued to attack her entire body. Believing he had killed her, he went to the police to turn himself in. But Maria was alive! However, due to the severity of her injuries, the doctors had to amputate part of her leg as well, turning her life into a permanent prison. At the end of the week, she received a prosthesis that provoked a new, brilliant smile.
To learn more stories like the one of Mary and find out more about the August 2024 mission in Mozambique you can read the newsletter at the following link.
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