“Khatwah” Association for Fitting Artificial Limbs offers services to 1000 people annually

DAMASCUS, Aug.1, (ST)-The Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Muhammad Seif El-Din, has stressed the ministry’s support for civil work and what it provides in the field of taking care of the Persons With Disabilities, rehabilitating them and integrating them into society.

During his visit on Monday to the headquarters of the “Khatwah” Association [Step Association] for Fitting Artificial Limbs in Damascus, the minister asserted the importance of the services being offered by the association for the PWD through implanting alternative prosthetic limbs.

He also referred to the increase in the number of these cases due to injuries that led to limb amputations as a result of the terrorist war on Syria.

About 1,000 people benefit annually from the prosthetic limbs fitting which is provided by the association, according to its chairman, Raymond Hilal, who made it clear that the association’s services are free and include the installation of lower and upper limbs, physical therapy sessions, psychological support and awareness of the dangers of non-explosive waste, in addition to prosthetic limb repair services, in cooperation with Civil society and economic activists.

Hilal added the association’s services are provided in its prosthetic limb centers in Damascus, Daraa and Tartous, referring to a plan to expand the number of centers to include the governorates of the eastern region, in addition to developing technical services.

“In 2018, the Smart Limb project for children was launched in cooperation with Chines donor organizations where 170 children have benefited so far,” he said.

It is noteworthy that the “Khatwah” Association was established in 2014 and it works on fitting industrially amputated limbs for all those affected by the war on Syria and to train volunteer youth cadres specialized in this field.

Basma Qaddour