Porterville Rotary distributes prosthetic hands in Ecuador

Ten members of the Porterville Rotary Breakfast Club recently ventured on a four-day trip to Ecuador, where they distributed 140 prosthetic hands to Ecuadorians in need.

The Porterville contingent arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador, a city of approximately 250,000 on Aug. 2 where they were welcomed by Rotarians of the Club Rotario Portoviejo Reales Tamarindos. The local club had spent weeks preparing for the project and identifying recipients for the hands.

“Many of these people have lost their hands to injuries or have birth defects,” Past President of the Porterville Breakfast Rotary Club Judy Sarber said. “This is partly because they don’t have the same safety requirements in their country as we do.”

Among the recipients was a laborer who lost his hand in a work-related accident — he hoped to go back to work after receiving the prosthesis. There was also a woman clerk who was initially reluctant, but walked away with a new hand. Overall, Sarber remembers the children, an experience she said is summarized in the case of a 10-year-old boy with a congenitally missing arm who kept saying “mis dedos, mi mano” [my fingers, my hand] as the prosthesis was being assembled and fitted onto his arm.

“It was an amazing event for all of us,” Sarber said. “ More than one time there wasn’t a dry eye in the house...it was very emotional.”

In March of 2009, Sarber attended a training conference in San Jose to prepare for becoming President of the Porterville Club for 2009-10, where she came upon a display of the “Give Hope - Give a Hand” project.

The project came about after Ernie Meadows of Medford, Ore. developed the LN-4, a low-cost, light, durable and functional prosthetic hand in memory of his daughter Ellen.

Initially, Meadows intended the hand for children and adolescent landmine victims, but ultimately gave the prosthetic hand to Rotarian friends in 2006, specifying that no one profit from the production or distribution and that no recipient be charged.

According to Sarber, the Porterville Breakfast Rotary Club was able to partner with the Ecuador Rotary group after having a Rotary exchange student from the same country in 2007.
The Porterville Breakfast Rotary Club’s 140 hand contribution represents the largest LN-4 project to date.

“We are already talking about planning a return trip,” current club President Deron Johns said. “We are looking into doing other type of similar humanitarian projects, maybe water or sewer projects — I know drinking water and waste management are issues there.”

The club plans to continue their mission through fundraising, public speaking engagements and additional trips to distribute and fit the LN-4 prosthesis.

“There’s a big need for projects like this, not only in Ecuador, but throughout the world,” Johns said. “Until you actually physically go there, you don’t get to the realization of how things really are.”