Students at a Perth high school have leant a helping hand – quite literally – to those in need, by building more than 100 prosthetic hands for children overseas.
Year 12 students at Shenton College hit the milestone in 2025 after taking part in the Helping Hands program for 10 years.
Year 12 students from Shenton College involved in the Helping Hands Program.
The prosthetic hands are distributed to countries including Africa, India, Mexico and Nepal, and donated to amputee landmine victims throughout the developing world.
Student Patrick Taplin, who is taking part in the program this year, said it was important to help out children who would otherwise not have access to the medical services required to get a prosthetic made.
“We don’t all have the same opportunities or privileges in this world,” Patrick said.
“I like to see where we can contribute to the wellbeing of others.”
Shenton College head of middle school Gary Green said the project made students think beyond their immediate community.
“This project is all about care and respect. Its greatest strength is that the students are building a prosthetic limb for someone they don’t know or may never meet,” he said.
“Care for someone you don’t know is such a significant disposition to encourage in our students.
“I love how this project shows the power of principled collaborative action where collectively through time and effort we can achieve so much to assist others.
“Quite simply this is awesome. How more authentic can it be to build a prosthetic hand that will enable another child to improve their everyday life and engage with more opportunity?”
Helping Hands chief executive Sue Langley said the program sent anywhere between 200 and 500 prosthetic hands per month to those in need.
“(The students) have been involved in helping to change many lives for 10 years, which is amazing,” she said.
Helping Hands has committed to building 30,000 hands by the end of 2030. On Friday, the number completed was already sitting at 26,406.
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