CDC inaugurates prosthesis center in Clark

CLARK FREEPORT, Feb. 18 (PNA) -- The Clark Development Corporation (CDC) has inaugurated the Clark Polytechnic Prosthesis Laboratory and Training Center here recently, which hopes to provide more free high tech prosthetic legs to hundreds of amputees in Central Luzon and other nearby provinces.

The inauguration of the center was graced by Undersecretary Celia Yangco of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Commissioner on Higher Education (CHED) Commissioner Nona Ricafort, Physician for Peace (PFP) Founding Director Johnny Montero, (Kapampangan Development Foundation (KDF) Trustee Sylvia Ordoňez, DSWD Regional Director Minda Brigoli and Rep. Carmelo Lazatin of the Pampanga First District, who gave one of the major facilities of the center.

The prosthesis laboratory and training center is an offshoot of the Walking Free Pampanga, a program of KDF, PFP Rotary and many cooperating partners. The program, now adopted by CDC under its corporate social responsibility (CSR) Agenda, aims to provide indigent amputees and disabled persons with prosthetic legs and wheelchairs.

The whole day prosthesis session followed the inauguration of the center where six amputees were given artificial legs, making the total number of beneficiaries 116 since the program started last October 2007.

On the same day, 12 patients were given wheelchairs, 11 more amputees were evaluated, seven were measured (by casting) and 18 persons availed of the free blood-sugar screening.

The CDC president said that the program has more than 250 pre-screened and pre-qualified patients who have been waiting for one-year to have their own artificial legs.

“With the Clark Prosthesis Center now in place, we are hoping that all those in the waiting list will all be given their prostheses and more to benefit”, Ricafort said.

According to Ricafort, the goal is to enable them and their caregivers to go back to productive life.

The prosthesis center here is part of CDC’s CSR project, CDC President Benigno Ricafort as he envisioned the laboratory project for amputee residents of Pampanga to have a chance to walk freely in their two legs.

The project is in partnership with the Physicians for Peace (PFP) in close collaboration with UP-PGH, local government units, members of the House of Representatives in Pampanga, and non-government organizations such as the Rotary International District 3790 Cluster 4A, Social Action Center of Pampanga (SACOP), Philippine Army and the Kapampangan Development Foundation (KDF), among others.