Cope (Prosthetic Limbs) Laos :
Around 90,000,000 cluster bombs were dropped on Laos/Thailand during the 'Secret War', when the Ho Chi Minh trail which was used as a supply route between North and South Vietnam was carpet bombed during the Vietnam war. It has been estimated that 30% of these bombs never exploded ('UXO'). The result is many millions of tennis ball-sized bomblets lying unexploded in fields where peasant farmers use hand-held hoes and other implements to plant rice and other crops.
The inevitable result is that many of these farmers (and occasionally children) loose arms and legs when the bomblets detonate. Laos therefore has a much larger proportion of limbless people than any other countries (particularly those without arms - a typical explosion would be detonated by the end of the hoe which is forced back and rips through the farmer's shoulder, cutting of his arm).
Laos is a poor country and has very little infrastructure to help these people. Cope (the Cooperative Orthotic and Prosthetic Enterprise) is a not-for-profit organisation that provides all of the prosthetic and orthotic devices to all Lao people with a mobility disability. This includes the many people who have been disabled as a result of UXO explosions.
Until relatively recently most limbless people made their own devices from any material they could find, but COPE now provides modern, cheaply constructed but well-made devices to help these people's lives. COPE are constantly trying to raise funds to help more people - including funding to transport these poor farmers to the Centre in Vientiane so they can be fitted with appropriate devices. LVCF have made several donations to COPE and the most recent ($2,722) was made in January 2013, gratefully received.
Dear Red Spokes and LVCF!
"On behalf of the staff here at the rehabilitation centre and all the patients that your donations have helped I would like to say... THANK YOU!!! Over the past 2 years Red Spokes and its tour groups have been extremely generous to the project. This year, without support from you we would not be still going. The donation that Andy Hearn sent was at a critical time. The need for help is overwhelming at times but it means so much that a bunch of strangers arrive every few months on your tours and leave as supporters of COPE. Your passion for the country is tangible and seemingly infectious! So please keep coming to visit! A small amount of money can do so much here. A two thousand dollar donation can provide 40 lower limb prosthetics, 80 club foot treatments or feed a patient in our centre for 1666 days! It is this 'cash' which is hard for us to raise and is why we rely so much on support from people such as yourselves! Many many thanks for your continued support and we look forward to welcoming you here again soon. Our visitor centre should be open in some form by the time you are scheduled to come through. With warmest wishes from Laos/Thailand."
