An idea conceived about 937 days ago became a reality on Thursday with the opening of the Saint Lucia Prosthetic Centre, giving amputees access to custom-built prosthetic limbs and, for some, a chance to walk independently again.
The project, led by the Rotary Club Caribbean Plus in close partnership with the Government of Saint Lucia, Hope to Walk, Montero Medical Missions and the Tapion Foundation, will give amputees access to prosthetic limbs designed and built specifically for their individual needs here in Saint Lucia.
“Today is about opening a door to greater mobility, independence and hope,” Rotary Club Caribbean Plus President Tzarmallah Haynes-Joseph said in remarks delivered on her behalf, as she was unable to attend the opening in person.
Even before its official opening, the centre had already helped two people stand and walk again. One is a former police officer, while the other is a double amputee. Both were able to leave the facility walking on their own.
“It is absolutely magic,” said past Rotary president Konrad Wagner.
“What we are providing here is a service for people that really need it. We are building prostheses that are functional, that are accessible.”
At the centre, patients will be assessed and have a prosthetic built to suit their individual needs. Wagner explained that the relationship does not end once someone receives a limb. The centre will remain available for repairs and adjustments, including for people who may not have originally received their prosthetic there.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that everyone in Saint Lucia who needs a prosthesis can access one.
For now, the centre will focus on below-the-knee prosthetics, with the hope of eventually expanding its services to provide above-the-knee prostheses.
The centre is housed at Tapion Hospital, with the space made available to the Rotary Club and the Government of Saint Lucia at no cost as part of the hospital’s contribution to the initiative.
For Minister for Home Affairs, Crime Prevention and Persons with Disabilities Jeremiah Norbert, Thursday’s opening carried particular significance.
Norbert is himself a prosthetic user, having lost a leg after sustaining serious injuries in a motorcycle accident in 2021. Drawing on that experience, he reflected on the difference a prosthetic can make in someone’s everyday life.
“I know what a prosthetic can do…. Just imagine you’ve been sitting in a wheelchair all along and you’re being pushed around and within a few hours, you can move and you don’t necessarily have to rely on someone,” he said.
Norbert emphasised that the occasion was about much more than cutting a ribbon. The high cost of prosthetic limbs, he noted, has left some amputees without options for years, not because they do not want to walk, but because they simply cannot afford the equipment.
With the centre now open, the goal is to make that access easier, and give more amputees the mobility and independence that a prosthetic limb can provide.
