USA/INDONESIA: Two Indonesian children who lost limbs in devastating asian tsunami show off their new prosthetic limbs in New York

Record ID: 174367

  • Title: USA/INDONESIA: Two Indonesian children who lost limbs in devastating asian tsunami show off their new prosthetic limbs in New York
  • Date: 29th August 2005
  • Summary: (L!1) NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 29, 2005) (REUTERS) TARA AND HAMDAMI PLAYING OUTSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (Acehnese) TARA SAYING: "I'm really happy getting this new leg. I can walk again and run again with my friends, but the doctors say that I need to learn how to walk as normal as possible without limping at all." (SOUNDBITE) (Acehnese) HAMDAMI SAYING: "With this prosthetic arm, it's kind of hard to hold things, but I need to learn so maybe I can do better than I do now." TARA AND HAMDAMI PLAYING OUTSIDE
  • Embargoed: 13th September 2005 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA
  • City:
  • Country: Usa Indonesia
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVA3HVL90QTHA3FNT7D0GH6OSLK
  • Story Text: Two Indonesian children who lost limbs in the December tsunami now have working prosthetics.
    Hamdami and Tara, survivors of the devastating tsunami that struck Banda Aceh province on December 26, 2004, showed off their new prosthetic limbs on Monday (August 29).
    Due to tsunami related injuries, both children had amputations. Nine-year-old Tara lost the lower half of her right leg and Hamdami, also age 9, lost part of his right arm.
    The children are in New York after returning from Philadelphia's Shriners Hospital where they were fitted with prosthetics. The trip and the treatment were provided by the Global Medical Relief Fund (GMRF), an organization that helps disabled children who were severely injured by war, natural disasters and illness.
    Elissa Montanti, founder of GMRF said that the prosthetics will provide the children with a sense of normalcy.
    "They're socially accepted. They're whole again. They know that the world is looking at them being whole. Tara can walk like a normal person, and Hamdami can wear clothes and be able to shake somebody's hand," she ****(some text missing)**** Hamdami and Tara, accompanied by one parent each, arrived in New York on July 19. Their home, in the province of Banda Aceh, was one of the worst-hit areas of the tsunami. The GMRF hopes to bring the children back each year until their 21st birthday so that they can be refitted with new limbs as they grow.
    Tara, who now has only a slight limp, is excited to run and play like she did before the amputation.
    "I'm really happy getting this new leg. I can walk again and run again with my friends, but the doctors say that I need to learn how to walk as normal as possible without limping at all,"
    she said.
    For Hamdami, the prosthetic arm means that he can now play ball with his brother, that is, he said, once he gets adjusted to using it.
    "With this prosthetic arm, it's kind of hard to hold things, but I need to learn so maybe I can do better than I do now," he said.
    Before receiving their prosthetics, the children were able to enjoy the sights and sounds of New York. They spent time in Times Square, and were even treated to the broadway show "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."
    Tara, Hamdami, and their parents will return to Indonesia on August 31.
    The GMRF, which was founded in 1997, claims to have helped 50 children from across the world, including countries like Bosnia, Niger, Mexico, Sierra and Iraq.
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