KARACHI, Aug 23: Over 400 physically impaired people will be fitted with special prostheses and calipers, developed by Jaipur Foot, an Indian organisation, at a week-long camp that begins today at the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS).

An eight-member team from Jaipur Foot has arrived in Karachi to provide their expertise and technology free of cost. The programme is a project of Rotary Club of Karachi, Haswa (Healthcare and Social Welfare Association) and DUHS.

Speaking at a press conference at the DUHS on Thursday, Dr D.R. Mehta, the founder of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti that runs Jaipur Foot, said that the technology greatly enhanced the quality of life of the physically challenged people as it made very complicated movements easier, the raw material for fabrication was locally available and above all cost only Rs2,000.

“The quality of the limbs is such that a person can walk comfortably, ride a bicycle, run, jump, dance and even climb a tree,” he said.

For adults, the foot lasted for three to four years while for children it needed to be replaced as they grew up, he said, adding that there were about 16 centres of Jaipur Foot all over India where artificial limbs, foots and calipers were being provided free of cost.

“From April 2006 and March this year, about 20,000 people have benefited from this technology. There are no appointments and delays and people are attended to on their first visit,” Dr Mehta said.

He said that the organisation had been working since 1975 and the Jaipur Foot team had been to 22 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and was visiting Pakistan for the first time.

Before arriving in Karachi, the team went to Islamabad where over 400 people were fitted with artificial limbs under the National Rural Support Programme.

Highlighting the significance of the camp, DUHS vice-chancellor Masood Hamid said that the type of flexibility present in Jaipur Foot was not available in Pakistan.

He expressed his gratitude to the team for providing its expertise for free.