Amputee sets up limbs clinic in Africa

Published on Saturday 6 September 2008 10:35

A MENINGITIS survivor who lost her hands and feet to the disease is to set up a prosthetics clinic in Africa, it was announced today.

Quadruple amputee Olivia Giles from Edinburgh has teamed up with Glasgow City Council to establish the clinic in Malawi.

Ms Giles – a former Scotswoman of the year – flies out to the country, which is one of the poorest in the world, next week.

She hopes to ship out 300 pairs of shoes to the city of Blantyre, which already runs a workshop for meningitis sufferers.

As well as providing help for those affected by meningitis, personal computers will be installed in a school for AIDS orphans and work will be carried out to improve waste disposal.

Medical and educational projects will also be set up.

Ms Giles said: "The workshop in Blantyre only produces a maximum of 200 prostheses a year and 150 orthoses – not even getting close to meeting the demand.

"If you live in Malawi and lose a limb, the chances are you will not live an awful lot longer.

"It costs as little as 65 for a below-the-knee prosthesis. By fitting one you can give someone back their dignity and independence and that is my motivation."

There are more than 12 million people in Malawi and the World Health Organisation estimates that 0.5 per cent of the population requires prosthetic and orthotic services.