2007 Finalist Projects

LIMBS FROM LEFTOVERS

Mend - NEPAL

There's little in the way of formal support for disabled people in Nepal. Ganga Rayamajh's story is typical. Having lost both her legs as a baby, she had no option but to crawl to school, as her family could not afford to buy expensive imported prosthetics.

But at the age of 17, thanks to New Zealand charity MEND, Ganga was finally fitted with artificial legs. Since then she has striven to improve the lives of other disabled people through local charity ASHA.

In 2004, ASHA and MEND set out to develop a range of artificial limbs, tools and other mobility devices that would be within the price range of even the poorest Nepalese.

They came up with an innovative cost-cutting solution - to use everyday wastes as their raw materials. Moulds for artificial legs, for example, are cast from aluminium cans, while the legs themselves are made, in part, from recycled plastics.

For further information click here: http://www.mend.org.nz/