Dandenong students are giving six people a life-changing hand.
Dandenong High School raised more than $2800 for Rotary Club of Dandenong’s Building Hands for Landmine Victims project.
The cash bought six prosthetic hands, which Rotarians helped VCAL students to assemble at the school on Tuesday 4 October.
Rotarian Don Cantwell said the club had now provided 40 hands thanks to sponsorship from businesses and community groups, and that Doveton College had also contributed one hand.
“There are estimated to be 384,000 people who have lost one or both hands to landmines and these are mostly children,” he said.
“There are 120 million landmines still set in the world, mostly in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and there are being cleared at a rate of only 100,000 per year.
“At this rate it will take 1200 years to clear all the mines!
“If you lose your hands you lose your independence.
“By fitting these hands, although not perfect, we restore some independence and hope.”
The hands are supplied in kits of 10 priced at $4000 and it takes two people two hours to put them together.
Each hand is sent to its recipient with the name of the people who assembled it and the sponsor.
“We are now getting emails from some of the victims who have some of our hands fitted, telling us what a difference it will make to their lives,” Mr Cantwell said.
Ny Khom, a 59-year-old Cambodian rice farmer with a wife and six children, travelled 68km to receive his new hands and sent his thanks.
Another recipient was Cambodian girl Phov, who lives with her nine-year-old sister and grandmother.
Her hand-written thank-you note says “thx you for your donation” followed by a love heart.
“Grandma is a rice farmer so the girls can go to school,” the note goes on.
“Grandma thanks for the hand which will help Phov.”
Call Mr Cantwell on 0400 306 311 to support the project or for information about joining Rotary.
