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Training

In all of our projects our primary aim has always been to build in-country capacity (1) to produce high quality protheses and orthoses and (2) to manage efficient orthopaedic workshops – because that capacity is crucial to our projects’ sustainability and long-term success. Therefore, sponsoring the training of new Malawian prosthetists and orthotists will remain a key element of what we do.

Usually, our students have studied for a 3-year diploma but a few have qualified with a 1-year certificate and five have now qualified with a degree. We have sponsored the training of students by sending them to (1) the Tanzania Training Centre for Orthopaedic Technologists (TATCOT) (www.tatcot.org) in Moshi in Tanzania, (2) Exceed Worldwide in Cambodia (formerly the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics) (Exceed) (https://www.exceed-worldwide.org/cambodia) in Phnom Penh or (3) Mobility India (https://mobility-india.org).

Samual Graduating

Benadeta Singini, the manager of our prosthetics and orthotics service at The Lilongwe Institute for Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery in Lilongwe, Malawi, (pictured above left) upgraded her diploma through a 3-year blended, distance learning degree course provided by Human Study e.V. (http://www.human-study.org) and our most recent graduate, Samuel Mkomera, also from Malawi, (pictured above centre and right) upgraded his diploma to a degree through a two-year residential course at the Sirindhorn School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (SSPO) (https://www.ispoint.org/training-programme/sirindhorn-school-of-prosthetics-and-orthotics-sspo/) which is part of Mahidol University in Thailand.

All of these schools teach the use of polypropylene technology which is the system that we use and promote for the manufacture of prosthetic and orthotic devices in our projects.

Wherever possible we sponsor people with whom we already have a working relationship as a result of their having worked with us on one of our projects. Sorry but we do not accept unsolicited applications.

500 miles has sponsored the training of a total of 20 African technologists (including two Tanzanian students) for 22 qualifications. You can meet our students and former students below (with the most recent, top left and the earliest, bottom right) – just click on a name to read the profile.

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