After we discuss success, we frequently consider monetary milestones, climbing the profession ladder or private achievements. However for hundreds of individuals in South America residing with limb loss, success appears to be like very completely different. For them, it’s the skill to stroll once more, to return to work, to play with their youngsters and even to easily reside with dignity.
That’s the place the Vary of Movement Challenge (ROMP) is available in. Since 2005, this nonprofit has been rewriting what’s attainable for underserved amputees in Latin America and, within the course of, redefining what it means to create affect.
Mobility is greater than motion
ROMP’s philosophy is straightforward however profound, the place mobility equals empowerment. And motion doesn’t simply imply shifting from level A to level B; it means freedom. Freedom to take part in life, to chase desires, and to take management of the longer term.
“ROMP is a nonprofit group working to make immobility a factor of the previous,” says Jonathan Naber, the nonprofit’s Govt Director. “Our mission is to make sure entry to high-quality prosthetic look after underserved folks, enhancing their mobility and independence. Our domestically staffed clinics in Guatemala and Ecuador present life-changing care and rehabilitation to a whole lot of sufferers every year.”
The group has already delivered greater than 6,000 prostheses, logged almost 20,000 affected person visits, and developed revolutionary community-based rehabilitation packages. “The moments that almost all stand out to me embrace opening our clinics in Guatemala and Ecuador, launching our Group-Based mostly Rehabilitation Program, and starting to make use of microprocessor (computerized) knees with sufferers,” says Naber.
Each prosthetic ROMP suits represents greater than a tool. It’s a second likelihood at life and a return to independence. And behind each quantity is a narrative. “We’ve seen hundreds of sufferers through the years, every of whom have their very own story of loss, dedication, and achievement,” Naber explains. One such success story is about Cristóbal, who was referred to ROMP after dropping his leg on the hip as a consequence of most cancers. “He was wheelchair-bound and emotionally shut off from the world. He obtained prosthetic care at ROMP, and at the moment he’s a contented teenager who performs soccer and desires to be a physician. The transformation is unimaginable, and it occurs on daily basis at ROMP,” beams Naber.
Tackling obstacles
In international locations like Ecuador, challenges for amputees go far past entry to a prosthetic limb. “The few clinics that present care are sometimes costly and don’t present the total vary of companies a affected person wants,” says Naber. “With out care, folks with amputation can not stroll, they usually battle with the psychological, financial, and social impacts of their immobility.” ROMP addresses these obstacles by way of cell clinics and native outreach to distant elements of those international locations as a way to scale back the geographic barrier sufferers face to receiving care. Their group well being staff, or mobilizers as they’re known as, go to probably the most susceptible sufferers of their houses earlier than and after they obtain their prostheses, serving to enhance their psychological well being, bodily mobility and livelihood.
Training and consciousness are equally vital. “One of many greatest obstacles folks with disabilities face is solely realizing the place they will get assist,” Naber notes. “In each Guatemala and Ecuador, we’re deeply concerned in empowering folks on a group degree to establish disabling circumstances—amputation in addition to others—and referring folks to the companies they want.” That is a part of ROMP’s method to not solely present companies, however develop the rehabilitation techniques for extra holistic care.
Innovation by way of recycling
One in every of ROMP’s most inventive packages is Parts for a Trigger (C4C), which works to offer already current prosthetic elements a second life. Parts which may in any other case sit in storage or go to waste within the U.S. are shipped to ROMP’s clinics, to be refurbished and fitted to sufferers in want.
“Round 95% of the prosthetic elements our clinics use—like toes, knees, and liners—are recycled in high-income markets,” Naber notes. “Clinics and people donate new and gently used gadgets and we kind, clear, verify, and export them to our Guatemala and Ecuador operations. We tag every merchandise with a QR code and inform the donor when it’s deployed with a affected person.”
This round economic system of prosthetics means donors can see first-hand the direct affect of their contributions, and sufferers acquire entry to world-class know-how which may in any other case have been out of attain, a win-win for all.
Measuring success
However for ROMP, success isn’t nearly numbers. “Our sufferers are multifaceted folks, and our definition of success goes far past merely delivering their prosthesis,” says Naber. “We measure our sufferers’ bodily mobility, psychological well being, and productive actions, and we goal their wants in these completely different areas by way of our wide-ranging scientific and community-based companies.”
As sufferers regain independence, a ripple impact begins to happen. Households stabilize and communities profit from elevated productiveness and mentorship. Receiving prosthetic rehabilitation helps an individual with amputation to be bodily cell once more. They will stand, stroll, and transfer, which permits them to return to work, assist their household, and contribute to their group. Many sufferers then grow to be peer mentors to different sufferers, sharing their lived expertise of amputation.
Partnerships and affect
ROMP’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Outside gear firm Cotopaxi, recognized for its dedication to impact-driven initiatives, has been a key companion in increasing the nonprofit’s attain. “Our partnership with ROMP started in 2020, after we have been searching for organizations addressing essential gaps in healthcare entry in Latin America,” says Charlie Clark, Director of Philanthropy on the firm. “We have been drawn to ROMP due to their deep roots in Ecuador, their trusted relationships with native and federal governments, and their collaborative method with medical practitioners on the bottom.” Over time, this has grown into one thing that goes far past funding as these two allies work towards amplifying their affect and sharing their story with a broader viewers.
For the model, this mission strikes on the coronary heart of their values. “At Cotopaxi, we consider poverty alleviation and well being fairness are deeply related,” Clark provides. “Lack of entry to high quality healthcare is without doubt one of the strongest indicators of poverty, and limb loss is a big and infrequently neglected barrier to financial mobility and wellbeing.” Clark additionally notes that Ecuador has a disproportionately excessive variety of folks residing with limb loss, typically as a consequence of infrastructure challenges and restricted entry to prosthetic care. Therefore, ROMP’s mannequin of mixing technical experience, native partnerships, and holistic rehabilitation, is each extremely efficient and deeply human.
This partnership underscores how mobility shouldn’t be solely a matter of particular person transformation but in addition a collective accountability. By bringing collectively nonprofits, company companions and communities, ROMP is creating change that extends far past a single prosthetic.
Wanting forward
ROMP’s ambitions are as daring because the affect it’s already making. After 20 years in Guatemala and Ecuador, ROMP is seeking to increase globally utilizing a partnership mannequin. The technique for the following three years consists of assembly the demand in Guatemala and Ecuador and sharing their Mobility Toolkit mannequin with the remainder of the world to make immobility a factor of the previous. To that finish, Naber calls upon anybody who desires to play a job to make a one-time donation or grow to be a Month-to-month Mobility Member to their mission.
The imaginative and prescient is certainly daring: a world the place mobility shouldn’t be a privilege for the rich however a universally acknowledged proper no matter financial standing or geographic proximity. Or, as Naber places it: “We don’t simply construct prosthetics. We construct futures.”
Photograph courtesy of Karthika Gupta
