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4,000 people have benefited from free prosthetics
The Mahavir Kmina Corporation, dedicated to the manufacture and adaptation of lower limb prostheses, has already benefited more than 4,000 people with its free service.
February 21, 2019
The institution, which was born in 2007 at the initiative of a businessman from Antioquia, is committed to the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, specifically those who have suffered amputations of a lower limb. Since then, the Corporation has benefited more than 4,000 people with its free prostheses and, if their families are taken into account,its impact has spread to more than 14,000 human beings.
From its service center located in La Estrella, Antioquia, Mahavir Kmina has provided its free service to people from 426 municipalities in Colombia, as well as many others from 10 Latin American countries. Their service, as if that were not enough, makes no distinction based on the cause of the amputation, socioeconomic status, age, gender, political ideology or religious creed of the beneficiary: any person who requires a prosthesis and does not have the means to obtain it, she can be benefited by Mahavir Kmina at no cost.
"It gives us great satisfaction to know that we will probably meet our goal ahead of budget."
Jesus Albert Silver
technical director Mahavir Kmina
“Our vision for 2020 is to have donated 4,500 prostheses”, comments Jesús A. Plata, technical director of the Corporation, “it gives us great satisfaction to know that, probably, we will meet our goal ahead of budget, which opens new panoramas for the institution," he continues. Actually, it is like that, because from its beginning until now, Mahavir Kmina has gradually improved its service and will continue to do so as long as it has the possibilities for it.
The Corporation began its work manufacturing a prosthesis for a man who was the victim of an accident at work. Since then, it has put together great efforts in search of integrality. “Our mission is that people recover their lives; In that order of ideas, we must understand that the loss of a limb is not a problem that only affects the mobility of the person, all the dimensions that make up their life are greatly affected”, says Juan R. Mejía, executive director of the corporation.
Based on this idea, Mahavir Kmina has tried in recent years to offer a service that intervenes in the life of the amputee patient from a global perspective. First, "New options are being developed to expand the Corporation's technological offer,including new materials, new alignment methods and possible options for upper limb amputated patients”, explains Plata.
The psychology area is also being strengthened with a view to providing effective therapeutic spaces for the beneficiaries, "the idea is to leave behind the psychological consultation only foroffer psychological therapyof greater impact for the beneficiaries and their families, in addition to opening newgroup therapy spacessegmented so that the beneficiary learns about cases similar to theirs and can share experiences”, adds Ricardo López, a psychologist at the Corporation.
Additionally, other important projects are being developed from communications management. “Mahavir Kmina aims to be a benchmark in amputee patient care; in this way, from Communications efforts have been made to educate our beneficiaries in their rehabilitation process”, comments Julián Martínez, communications leader of the Corporation. “From the area, we aim to take advantage of our various means of communication, such as social networks and our new web portal, as an information center that the beneficiary can turn to forlearn to cope with your rehabilitation processsuccessfully," he explains.
The efforts are already bearing fruit. "We have more than 500 people on the waiting list who want a prosthesis with the Mahavir Kmina seal, that speaks of the quality of the service we are providing," says Patricia Ángel, administrative coordinator of the Corporation. However, with the development of the project new challenges have also arisen: "the evolution that Mahavir Kmina has presented in recent years is wonderful, but as we growwe need to reach out to more people willing to help”, says Mejia. Currently, the Corporation needs new benefactors. "We want to continue growing, we want to give more people an opportunity to start over, but to achieve this, we need more people to believe in our cause and support us with their donations," he continues.
"Mahavir Kmina points to being a benchmark in amputee patient care."
Julian Martinez
Communications leader Mahavir Kmina
Beneficiaries of the Mahavir Kmina Corporation.
