Introduction

The training of Dolores Samai as female technicain appreciates gender equality and is essential for addressing the growing demand for skilled orthotists and prosthetists at SLASA in particular, and Sierra Leone as a nation. The training will equip candidate with the knowledge and skills to provide high-quality care to patients. By investing in this program, the funding bodies will be contributing to what is recognised as best practices to a more mobile population.

Dolores MH Samai is a vibrant 21-year-old volunteer staff member of the Sierra Leone Single Leg Amputee Sports Association –SLASA. She is a Sierra Leonean and has been part of the organization since childhood, growing up in a family deeply committed to helping amputees lead active and fulfilling lives.

Her skills, dedication, and positive energy have made her a valuable member of the team. Beyond her role, she is a strong advocate for gender equality within the organization, striving to empowering women and ensuring they have equal opportunities in sports and all aspect of life.

One of Dolores’s greatest aspirations is to become a highly trained professional Prosthetic and Orthotics technician. She is passionate about designing customized prosthetics limbs that cater to the unique needs and lifestyle of each amputee. Looking ahead, she aim to further her education to become an Orthopedic surgeon, specializing in innovative medical treatments that help amputees regain mobility and independence.

Need & Justification

In 2001, following the terrible civil war in which many children lost an arm or a leg to a machete or a bullet, Dolores father; Mambud Samai a local pastor, farmer and educator in Sierra Leone. introduced amputee football as a way of giving hope to those affected and started the Sierra Leone Amputee Sports Association – SLASA (https://www.slasa.org). In 2019, after a year learning organic farming and permaculture at the Asian Rural Institute – ARI Japan, Mambud started Farming on Crutches (https://www.farmingoncrutches.org) to train amputees (both men and women) to farm organically. 75 have now been trained and have returned to their homes to farm and to become changemakers in their communities. Brainstorming the challenges amputees faced in farming, they suggested for an easier mobility, prosthesis care that can add value to their farm work, however, Although Government is making efforts, the challenges are still great.

The positive impact on this training will have on patient care, such as improved prosthetic fitting, better orthotic outcomes, and more effective rehabilitation programs. According to the United Nations Human Development Index, Out of a total population of eight million people, 450’000 inhabitants of Sierra Leone (which represents almost the 18 % of the entire population) live with a disability. There is no official data for amputations in Sierra Leone, patients are only noted when they visit hospitals and prosthetic centres. However, conservative estimates recognise that 12’000 people in Sierra Leone live without one or more limbs and are in need of physical and psychosocial rehabilitation and social integration. Out of these numbers only 3.5% notably have access to prosthesis. SLASA alone is working among 1500 of amputees in the country.

Training Goals and Objectives

The training of Dolores as technician in P&O aims to gain a 3year knowledge and skills to serve SLASA members in order to guarantee a better living, who are commonly marginalized by society, lacking adequate access to public and private services to offer hope and respect through quality prosthesis and orthotics care.

The training shall be conducted at TATCOT, in Tanzania, a profound training institution in Prosthetics, Orthotics and Wheelchair Technology. The course is accredited and recognised by both the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) and World Health Organisation (WHO). The Diploma Programme in Prosthetic and Orthetic Science is accademically supervised and and awarded by the Muhimbili University of Health and Alied Sciences.The programme comprises of theoretical, technical and clinical modules which provide a student with competence in clinical examination and evaluation of individual patients in order to prescribe and deliver the appropraite prosthetic and orthotic services. The TATCOT training duration is 3 years comences in October each year. The teaching year comprises of 42 weeks of study with approximately 35 teaching hours in each week.

Budget and Resources

Below is detailed breakdown of the costs associated with the training at TATCOT in USD; The yearly cost is $8,825 USD and cost for airtickets and yearly personal expenses is $6,350 USD making a yearly total of $15,175 USD.

Conclusion

We are confident that training Dolores will have a significant positive impact on SLASA and the wider patients, outcomes and the field of orthotics and prosthetics in Sierra Leone. Any little amount can add huge value in gathering the yearly funding to support Dolores. We should confirmed candidate participation by August 2025. Thank you so much for considering our request.

*** Dolores is based in Sierra Leone which is not a country that is eligible to receive funding by this fundraising platform (and any of the other most common platforms). That is why the funds will be collected by Vanessa Thiele and then transferred to Dolores. We guarantee that all the money goes entirely to Dolores so that she can fulfill her dream***