POF seeks to improve the mobility and independence of physically
disabled children and adults in developing countries.Explore our worldwide programs.
About POF
POF seeks to ensure that children and adults with limb loss or limb deformities in developing countries have access to high-quality orthopedic and physical rehabilitation services, so that they can enjoy lifelong mobility.
To this end, we work to strengthen the local capacity of developing countries to provide prosthetic care, orthopedic surgeries and the treatment of children with clubfoot through hands-on teaching and training. This includes assisting developing countries with the in-country fabrication of prosthetic and orthotic components. By facilitating the transfer of technology and emphasizing the training of people in developing countries in this way, POF is building a continuum of care for prosthetic and orthopedic services that can be sustained locally. At present, POF has programs in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, and Haiti.
Worldwide, POF has helped more than 18,000 child and adult amputees walk again since its founding.
How People Lose Mobility
Wars have devastated thousands of lives in many developing countries. Deliberate amputations and landmines take a terrible toll, claiming victimes for decades after the shooting stops.
Work and transportation accidents also cause much limb loss in developing countries. Because of inadequate health care, untreated infections frequently end in forced amputations.
Birth defects and diseases, including polio, cerebral palsy and clubfoot, affect hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
Natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons, can leave thousands of amputees in their wake.
Mobility = Survival
Lost mobility usually means a lifetime of poverty and dependence. The disabled are often the poorest of the poor. Unable to support themselves, amputees and other mobility impaired children and adults often rely on hand-outs and are condemned to lives of neglect.
Restoring Mobility and Hope
Over 20 years, POF has helped more than 18,000 children and adults to walk. We help to restore mobility, independence, and hope to amputees and others with severe orthopedic disabilities.
