El Salvador – A second mission to Haiti from Don Bosco University

(ANS – Soyapango) – On June 12 four technical specialists in artificial limbs and orthopedic assistance from the Don Bosco University (UDB) in Soyapango left for Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to help with the re-habilitation of people who have had amputations following their injuries in the January 12 earthquake.

This is the second humanitarian mission from UDB. In the first by 7 professional technicians, there were about 200 artificial limbs and more than 100 sessions of orthopedic assistance.

“The aim is to help the people. We know what state the country is in after the earthquake. We know this will also help us in our lives and in our profession,” declared Alexis Mendoza, one of the volunteers.

The team will stay in Haiti until December. Prof. Rolando Martinez Panameño, dean of the School of Re-habilitation Science, has calculated that at present there are about 10,000 people in need of help, and of these 4,000 have had an amputation. The volunteers will be involved in assessing the condition of the patients and planning and fitting the artificial limbs and providing the orthopedic help.