With excitement and fear Mansur’s family waved goodbye as they watched their son leave to go to Jakarta to fit a functional prosthesis. Two years ago he lost his right arm in a work accident mining gravel from the riverbed, and since that time has struggled to find productive work in his village where most men rely on manual labour for an income. SEEDS was able to help him obtain a cosmetic prosthesis soon after the amputation, but he has still been ostracised in his community through only having a functional left hand in a culture where all interactions happen with the right.

SEEDS workers who had journeyed with Mansur partnered with Jakarta School of Prosthetics and Orthotics and the graduate students from the academy to craft a functional prosthetic. An assistant who spoke Mansur’s dialect provided support throughout the process and accompanied him to Jakarta where he was personally fitted with and taught how to use a functional prosthesis. He grew in confidence as he worked with the makers to fashion the hand to meet his needs.

The day came for Mansur to return to his small village, and his family traveled early to make sure they were there to greet their son as he returned with his new arm. With fresh enthusiasm in his voice Mansur told of his experiences in the capital city and showed them how he was able to use this new hand. Now Mansur is much more talkative in the village and is again interacting with his right hand that he can hold out to greet people. He looks forward to the new job opportunities available now that he has two hands that he can use and hopes to realise his dreams to own a motorcycle!

SEEDS workers continue to build on a track record of high quality health advice and support in this rural area of Sumatra, working with local services to support, enhance and complement existing provision.