Helping more in India stand on their own feet
Esther Dyson looks at two projects, part of a growing trend to address root causes of problems
Last month, I visited the Jaipur Foot clinic in New Delhi. The Jaipur Foot is both an invention - a prosthetic foot made from cheap materials costing about US$45 (versus US$8,000 for a similar device in the US) - and an amazing, low-cost network of clinics around the world that has served more than 1.3 million people with new limbs, calipers and crutches.
I was expecting something like a hospital; instead, I found a hole in the wall. A group of people, some missing limbs, sat waiting to be served; others were limping or walking from one small room to another - from assessment to fitting and testing. Overall, there were roughly 50 customers (who paid nothing).
Lost limbs are a huge problem in India. Most cases result from traffic accidents. But there is also the effects of polio, diabetes, civil strife and other causes - 10 million people in all.
Earlier in my trip, I had visited a team developing a curriculum for plumbers. So now, I wondered, why not provide training for those amputees who have no careers? Perhaps in the six months between the amputation and the new limb, someone could arrange for them to learn a new trade, such as plumbing.
Such a scheme would be consistent with the growing attention in India nowadays to addressing root causes, rather than just dealing (ineffectively) with bad outcomes.
Indian businesses and other institutions are beginning to see opportunity in addressing their country's problems - which brings me back to plumbing. The training programme I have in mind is part of a broader initiative at Amrita University.