At least 140 people from Meru and surrounding counties were upbeat after receiving artificial limbs that will enable them to run their daily chores with ease.
The beneficiaries are part of a group that had their data taken in April this year courtesy of a medical camp that was orgnaised by North Imenti MP Rahim Dawood in conjunction with Narayan Seva Sansthan, a Non-Governmental Organisation from India and Hindu Samaj, Meru.
Speaking during the fitting of the limbs, Mr Dawood said the idea behind helping people get the assistive devices was birthed in 2019 when about 38 people from the constituency benefitted after they were taken to a medical camp held in Nairobi.
“After facing the challenges of ferrying people to Nairobi, we sat with Hindu Samaj, Meru, and decided to have such camps here. We are grateful that we recently held a second camp here in Meru and we are looking forward to more of these in the future,” said Mr Dawood.
The MP said they were also consulting widely to look into the possibility of establishing a factory for processing limbs in Meru or at least in Kenya so that they can be carrying such camps monthly, a move that will serve the needs of the entire country.
He also called on the government to exempt Duty during the shipping of the limbs from India as they were meant to help Kenyan citizens.
“We do not charge the beneficiaries any coin and therefore the government should exempt us from any tax while bringing in the limbs from India,” said Mr Dawood.
He said the recipients, in addition to the limbs, will also receive special shoes that will help them to move freely.
He also called on the beneficiaries to use the limbs in a productive way since this is the sole purpose of the entire charity programme.
Ms Esther Gacheri, a beneficiary, expressed her joy that she would now be running her chores without any problems.
She said she has been depending on her other family members to move around which sometimes has been a burden to them.
By Dickson Mwiti
