United Methodists provide artificial limbs in Africa

Dr. Eugene Muembo fits Donald Gabba with an artificial leg at Kissy Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The prosthetics were made at a United Methodist-supported clinic in Bo. UMNS photos by Phileas Jusu.

By Phileas Jusu*

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (UMNS)--A limb-fitting center in Bo has provided more than 200 artificial limbs for amputees since the end of Sierra Leone's civil war.

Most of the center's patients lost their limbs during the West African country's 11-year conflict. The center receives funding from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries through its Health and Welfare Department.

During a March workshop at the Kissy Hospital in Freetown, 12 of 30 registered amputees received artificial legs. Amara Lappia, limb-fitting technician and head of the center, said the workshop was successful "because amputees who have been longing for artificial limbs, some for four years to no avail, now have new ones free of cost.

"Those who have received will pass on the good news to their colleagues, and I'm sure this place will be full to capacity the next time we are around," he said. "Some of the amputees, I'm told, did not come because they thought they had to pay for the service."

Needing miracles
Francis Koroma, an ex-soldier in the Sierra Leone Army, was injured after a bomb fragment hit his left foot in a battle to defend the diamond-rich district of Kono from rebel forces. His foot was amputated at the military hospital in Freetown after several unsuccessful operations. Koroma was hopeful to secure a job at a security agency that made acquiring an artificial limb a prerequisite for his employment.

Like Koroma, Donald Gabba needed an artificial foot to qualify for a job in security. He had walked about 12 kilometers from his home to a limb-fitting organization but gave up after several attempts because the demand exceeded the supply.

This time, he was encouraged to get one free. "That is my miracle, and I do not have words to express how grateful I am," Gabba said. "These young guys caught up with me on the street and invited me to come here and receive what I have spent the past six years running after. I opened up my arms right there and prayed for them for God's blessing."

Afterwards, Gabba was so excited that he would wake up in the middle of the night, pick up his artificial limb and start learning how to use it. "At times, I danced in my room while my wife looked on with delight," he said. With a new foot and a new job, Gabba believes he no longer will have to beg on the street for a living.

J.T.T. Johnson, a retired Anglican from the Church of the Holy Spirit in eastern Freetown, has been a beneficiary of the limb-fitting center since its establishment in 2002. That year, he received his first artificial limb at the United Methodist Church's Kulanda Town Limb Fitting Center from the same staff members participating in the Freetown workshop.

For "Pa Johnson," as he is called, the staff members are his brothers because they have been nice to him throughout the past six years. In March, he was at the Kissy workshop to replace a limb that had become damaged.

His left foot was amputated after rebels shot him in 1999 during a battle in Freetown at the height of the Sierra Leone civil war. His house at Kissy had been burned down, so he went to a mosque to take refuge, believing that the rebels might not enter a place of worship. The rebels found him, however. A shot pierced through his left foot into the right foot, "but the force of the bullet had reduced considerably by the time it flew into my right foot. That is how I did not lose the right foot as well," he explained, showing the scar on the right foot.

Found later that day, Johnson was taken by his children to the Kissy Government Hospital, where he spent three days in the hospital kitchen without treatment. Eventually, he was taken to Connaught, the main government hospital in Freetown, but it was too late to save his foot.

Restorative ministry
Saa Bundu Kamara, a Muslim from an amputee resettlement home in Grafton, an eastern Freetown suburb, also had an artificial limb that became damaged. Kamara said his new limb from the center "restored more meaning" to his life.

Bomb fragments hit his left foot during a 1996 fight between pro-government forces and rebels who had invaded the city. "I suffered for two weeks because almost all international and local medical agencies had fled the city," he recalled. "By the time I received medical attention, my foot had gone terribly bad and needed to be amputated to save my life."

The limb-fitting center in Bo uses a process from Jaipur, India, and is the only place in Sierra Leone where that type of prosthetic is available. Patients can wear normal shoes and clothes. The government hospitals use a foam material that gets heavy and mildew-ridden in the heat and rain.

The center receives financial support from The Advance, the second-mile giving program of The United Methodist Church. Donations can be made through the Landmine-Prosthesis Program, Advance No. 982580. Make checks payable to a local church and drop in the offering plate or to "Advance GCFA" and mail to P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY 10087-9068. Write the name of the ministry and the Advance number on the check. Credit card gifts can be made by phone at (888) 252-6174 or online at http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/advance/donate.cfm?id=3019065.

*Jusu is a United Methodist communicator in Sierra Leone.