The first International Prosthetics and Orthotics Day was recently celebrated at the National Institute for Locomotor Disabilities (NILD), Bonhooghly, India.
The Orthotics and Prosthetics Association of India (OPAI) in association with the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) organized the very first International Prosthetics and Orthotics Day on the 5th of November, 2022.
Vispala Technologies, a company focused on making assistive technology products universally accessible, joined hands with NILD and OPAI to make this event successful. There was a day-long program throughout the NILD campus. The theme for the event was Enabling and Empowering.
The action-packed day was inaugurated by Dr. Abhishek Biswas, Former Director of NILD in the presence of Dr. P. K. Lenka, Head of NILD's Prosthetics and Orthotics Department, Dr. Aratatran Patra, Program Coordinator, and Dr. Pravin Kumar, Deputy Director, Administration. It was a unique rally that was held for the first time in Kolkata by limb amputees. In the inaugural address, Dr. Biswas spoke about the importance of International Prosthetics and Orthotics Day.
Students from the department of Prosthetics and Orthotics, NILD, and many other Prosthetics and Orthotics professionals took part in various programs that were held at the event. An Amputee Rally was organized with Prostheses and motorized tricycles. The rally started from NILD campus to Ananya, where around 60 amputees from all over the state of West Bengal using Prosthetics joined in along with 172 students, and 70 Prosthetics and Orthotics practitioners. The sight was overwhelming as so many differently-abled people participated in the rally independently.
The poster competition was another interesting highlight of the celebration in which students from the Prosthetics and Orthotics department, NILD participated. They presented a spectacular blend of creativity and a strong message through beautiful posters. Quizzes, slogan competitions, and a debate on the given theme were other focal points of the celebration.
The idea behind this initiative was to highlight and raise the importance and impact for those needing Prostheses and Orthoses, and the need to provide further resources to ensure equitable and appropriate access to Prosthetics and Orthotics services.
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