Roma State College students’ inspiring project offers hope for amputees

‘What we’ve done today will change someone’s life tomorrow’: A talented group of students have joined a global project to make a positive change in the lives of amputee victims.

A bright group of Roma students have taken part in a life-changing global project to help make a positive difference in the daily lives of amputees.

Students from Roma State College joined with Origin Energy Foundation volunteers to assemble and gift prosthetic hands to amputee victims who have lost limbs in landmine explosions and other accidents.

Students from Roma State College joined with Origin Energy Foundation volunteers assemble prosthetic hands. Photo: Origin Energy / Contributed

Once assembled the prosthetics were placed in a keep case, decorated by the students and then packaged with a personal message from the team involved to the unknown recipient.

Year 12 student Dylan Ogden said it was great that he was able to help others.

“I believe that everyone that took part has a new appreciation for our hands that we normally just take for granted. Knowing that what we have done today will change someone’s life tomorrow, is a great feeling,” he said.

There are an estimated 300,000 landmine-related amputees in the world with few able to afford the cost of a prosthetic hand, which ranges in costs from $3000 to $250,000.

Students were also asked to try tying their shoelace with one hand and then their non-dominant hand as part of the project, giving insight into the realities of life with a missing limb.

Roma State College students assembling prosthetic hands. Photo: Origin Energy / Contributed

Roma State College senior science teacher Monique Jones said it was rewarding to see her students use the skills acquired in their biology class into real-world practices.

“All the students raved about the program and said it was one of the best programs they have ever been involved in during their senior school,” she said.

Volunteering program manager Ruth Lee said the hands would be distributed by charity partners in developing countries to allow recipients to actively participate in school, work and community life.

“The construction of the hands is reasonably complex, and something most students would never attempt in their daily life,” she said.

“Many students think engineering is just about building the tallest building, they have never really thought about biomedical engineering. We hope this workshop helps them see broader possibilities.

“Engineering really has the capacity to make a huge change in the world, just like these prosthetics will change the lives of those who receive them.”

The hands assembled by Roma students will help to contribute to the Helping Hands Program goal of making 20,000 hands by 2021.