A myriad of activities defeating disability
From the outside it does not look to be anything special. An ordinary street in Taloqan. A sign that tells you that SCA has activities on the other side of the wall. But when you step through the door you discover a large courtyard, with flowers and green, and a number of scattered buildings. And above all, you become aware that everywhere there are activities going on, with the aim to make life easier for persons with disabilities.
Wheelchairs are manufactured. People of different ages who just received prostheses practice of how to use them. New prosthesis are formed. A child cries when the shoes attached to a rail is laced – to cure clubfoot. You here the clattering of the machines in the gym.
Mumtaz, 11, practices to walk with his new prosthetic leg. A year ago he had his left leg amputated at a hospital in Kabul. There was something that began to grow in the bone. Muntaz think it was cancer, but is not quite sure. Otherwise, the injuries of mines is the most common reason why people are in need of prostheses.
For a whole year, Mumtaz used crutches before he received his prosthesis. Now he has been training for a little more than a week and he’s getting really good at walking.
“People here are helpful”, he says.
Mumtaz comes from a family with a difficult economic situation. His dad is unemployed and the family is living on income from Mumtaz brother, who works in a restaurant. With the new prosthesis Mumtaz have hope that one day he will be able to contribute to the family’s livelihood.