As soon as Sidra Al Bordeeni, eight years old, returned from the clinic with her prosthetic arm, she jumped on a bike in the Jordanian refugee camp where she lives, for the first time since a missile strike in Gaza took her arm a year ago.
Sidra was injured as he reflected at the Nuseirat school, one of the many Gaza schools converted into makeshift shelters of Israeli strikes. His mother, Sabreen Al Bordeeni, said that Gaza had collapsed the health services and the incapacity of the family to leave at the time made her hand impossible.
A technician checks a prosthetic member at Bioniks, in Karachi, April 29, 2024. – Reuters
“She plays, and all her friends and siblings are fascinated by her arm,” said Al Bordeeni on the phone, thanking God several times for this day. “I cannot express how grateful I am to see my daughter happy.”
The arm was built more than 4,000 kilometers in Karachi by Bioniks, a Pakistani company that uses a smartphone application to take photos from different angles and create a 3D model for personalized prostheses.
CEO Anas Niaz said that the social business startup has adapted more than 1,000 tailor -made weapons within Pakistan since 2021 – funded by a mixture of patient payments, business sponsorship and donations – but it was the first time that it provided prostheses to those affected in conflicts.
Sidra and Habebat Allah, three, who lost his arms and a leg in Gaza, have gone through days of distance consultations and virtual fittings. Then Niaz flew from Karachi to Amman to meet the girls and make the first delivery abroad of her business.
The Sidra apparatus was funded by Mafaz Clinic in Amman, while donations from the Pakistani paid for Habebat. Mafaz CEO, Entsar Asaker, said the clinic has joined Bioniks for its low costs, remote solutions and its ability to help out.
Niaz said each prosthetic arm costs around $ 2,500, much less than $ 10,000 to $ 20,000 for alternatives taken in the United States.
A technician works on computers with a prosthetic limb diagram at Bioniks in Karachi, April 29, 2024. – Reuters
Although Bioniks’ weapons are less sophisticated than American versions, they provide a high level of functionality to children and their distant process makes them more accessible than options from other countries such as Turkey and South Korea.
“We also plan to provide members to people in other conflict zones, such as Ukraine, and to become a global business,” said Niaz.
Globally, most advanced prostheses are designed for adults and rarely reach children in war areas, who need members and lighter replacements every 12 to 18 months as they grow.
Niaz said they explored the financing options for future Sidra and Habebat replacements, adding that the cost would not be too high.
A technician works on computers with a prosthetic limb diagram at Bioniks in Karachi, April 29, 2024. – Reuters
“Only a few components should be changed,” he said, “the rest can be reused to help another child.”
Bioniks occasionally incorporates popular fictitious characters into the prostheses of his children such as Iron Man of Marvel or Elsa of Disney, a characteristic that Niaz declared to help with emotional acceptance and daily use.
A technician checks a prosthetic member at Karachi bioniks, April 29, 2024. – Reuters
‘Finally kiss my father’
Gaza now has around 4,500 new amputees, in addition to 2,000 existing cases before the war, including many children, making it one of the highest children’s amputation attacks per capita in recent history, the United Nations OCHA humanitarian agency said in March.
An April study by the Palestinian Statistics Office revealed that at least 7,000 children have been injured since the Israel War in Gaza began in October 2023. Local health authorities say that more than 50,000 Palestinians were killed, nearly a third of these children.
The World Health Organization said that the Gaza health system was “on their knees” with Israeli border closures that dry critical supplies, which means that the wounded cannot access specialized care, especially in the midst of injured patients.
“When it is almost impossible for healthcare professionals and patients to meet, treatment at a distance from a critical gap, making assessments, fittings and possible follow-up without travel or specialized centers,” said Asadullah Khan, clinical director at Proactive Prothetic in Leeds, the United Kingdom, which provides artificial members and support for patients with trauma.
Bioniks hopes a pioneer of such a large scale solutions, but funding remains a roadblock and the company is still trying to train viable partnerships.
Sidra always adapts to her new hand, on which she now wears a small bracelet. For a large part of the past year, when she wanted to make a heart, a simple gesture using both hands, she asked someone else to finish it. This time, she formed the form herself, took a photo and sent her to her father, who is still trapped in Gaza.
“What I look forward to is to use my two arms to finally kiss my father when I see him,” she said.
