In Venezuela there are no official figures on amputees. The last national census of 2011 only reveals that 1,454,845 citizens had a disability, which was equivalent to 5.38 percent of the population at that time.
For 2021, in its report on disability and mobility, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) accounted for 327 people with disabilities (without specifying its conditions) in its response plan for the humanitarian crisis.
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Although they are not visible in the statistics, on a day-to-day basis they are. More and more Venezuelans are losing some of their limbs as a result of sarcomas, diabetes or accidents. After being seen without a member, almost always inferior, getting a prosthesis goes from being a necessity to a miracle, since the costs are unaffordable for an average patient in this country.
In the market, a device can be worth 3,000 dollars, even 60,000, Juan Carlos Restrepo, director of Zona Bionica, tells EL TIEMPO. Restrepo, as he himself says, was born to “change the concept of prosthetic houses in the country”. Beyond marketing prostheses, they are responsible for accompanying, rehabilitating and motivating amputees because “it is not easy to lose a limb.”
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In 2017, Zona Bionica won the National Award for Science and Technology of Venezuela by presenting its prosthesis models 100 percent with national raw material. But the story did not start there. “It arose from the need to give my sister a prosthesis. A sarcoma caused him to have his leg amputated, Norys died and he could not get the device from her, ”says Restrepo, who was born in Cali, but came to Caracas from a very young age.
Since then, Restrepo has followed his motivation to return the joy that could not help him get his sister. Against all odds, he brought together several specialists to continue with the dream of making low-cost prostheses and giving them away if necessary. “In six years we have served 500 people,” he says with pride and tears as he remembers Norys.
If someone cannot pay, we help them to collaborate only with the materials
In a simple workshop in the popular area of El Cementerio, in the Venezuelan capital, Restrepo works alongside his collaborators, including José Bastidas, who lost a leg in an accident and now makes prostheses. He went from being a rubber tapper to “helping people,” he repeats.
Bastidas, father of a family, a traffic accident left him without one of his limbs. Little by little he has been learning the trade to specialize. Now he is the one who attends to the patients, takes the impressions in plaster and then in the workshop he makes part of what will be the new leg.
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A device in this family business can cost 600 dollars, below market prices, “but if someone can’t pay, we help them so that they collaborate only with the materials,” says Restrepo.
The Bionic Zone delivers one or two prostheses monthly through the Drawing Smiles program. In a month they can receive up to 200 requests for a free prosthesis through the program. “The idea is to help, now we have many children with this condition,” emphasizes Restrepo.
Now we have many children with this condition
The company also wants children not to feel excluded by seeing, for example, showcases with mannequins or photos of models without that condition. “We would like one of our little ones to be able to model clothes or shoes, because having a prosthesis is having a normal life,” says Restrepo with enthusiasm.
In the country there are about 15 houses that are responsible for manufacturing these products, many have closed due to the crisis and debt to international suppliers. In the case of the Bionic Zone, the costs are lower because they use aluminum, steel and bronze from the national industry. In addition, they hope to open a branch in Colombia, in Cúcuta.
Restrepo believes that the armed conflict has left many amputees and that is one reason why he wants to come to Colombia.. “We want to help them.”
The challenge of reaching Canaima in prosthetics
Going to the Canaima National Park, in Bolívar state, in southern Venezuela, represents quite a challenge. A minimum physical condition is necessary because the journey is challenging, although the reward is worth it. The tepuyes of Roraima, rivers and the immensity of the place are accompanied by walks of days and hours, all to reach the top.
But none of this seems like a problem, at least not for Francis Galeno, who could become the first woman with a prosthesis to reach Roraima and climb the tepuyes. She is still in the preparation stage to achieve this challenge. Restrepo says that in addition to being a personal motivation, Galeno wants other people with her condition to feel that nothing is impossible.
But Bionic Zone prosthetics have gone further. José Aranda is an amputee who, with a prosthesis from this house, has traveled through South America on foot. His journey began a few years ago and has been motivating others.
Bionic Zone wants more and more people in the labor market, who can have a normal life like the rest of the people and not at traffic lights asking for collaborations due to the lack of a prosthesis as observed in many streets of the country.
ANA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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