NEW YORK (TIP): Jaipur Foot, a prosthetic limb, has given a new hope and ray of light to people everywhere and has changed lives of people around the world, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. Shringla arrived in New York Wednesday, July 14 toparticipate in high-level events in the UN Security Council. Shringla’s visit comes as India prepares to assume the Presidency of the powerful 15-nation Security Council for the month of August.

Speaking at a welcome event organized in the city by Jaipur Foot USA and Gracious Givers Foundation USA, Shringla said every person in India is aware of the contributions that Jaipur Foot has done. He added that “we are proud” to work with Padma Bhushan D.R. Mehta, founder of Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) and Jaipur Foot.

He lauded the efforts of the organization and Jaipur Foot USA Chairman Prem Bhandari for their contribution that has helped change the “lives of so many people in our country” and have worked with the Ministry of External Affairs “to change the lives of people all over the world,” right from Vietnam, Bangladesh to Latin America and Sri Lanka. Shringla recalled that a young girl in Bangladesh, who lived for 10 years without a limb after she was run over by a car when she was just 6, was fitted with a Jaipur Foot limb. The expression on her face spoke of the appreciation for the work of Jaipur Foot and its team, he said.

In March this year, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti, while speaking at a Security Council briefing on Syria, had referred to the artificial limb fitment camp of Jaipur Foot conducted in Damascus that had benefitted over 500 Syrians.

“Our artificial limb fitment camp of the well-known ‘Jaipur Foot’ of the Jaipur-based BMVSS in India, which was conducted in Damascus, benefited over 500 Syrians affected by the conflict. We had undertaken this Jaipur Foot initiative under the rubric of ‘India For Humanity’. We certainly need humanity now more than ever on the humanitarian crisis facing Syria,” Tirumurti had said. Tirumurti had also tweeted that “In my statement… to @UN #SecurityCouncil on #Syria, I referred to our artificial limb fitment camp of ‘Jaipur Foot’ of BMVSS of Padma Bhushan Dr.DR Mehta, conducted in Damascus and benefiting 500+ Syrians. Initiative taken under ‘India for Humanity’ to celebrate Gandhi@150.”

Bhandari said that under the India for Humanity initiative, nearly a dozen Jaipur Foot camps have been conducted. On August 5 last year the agreement between MEA and BMVSS has been further extended and one camp has already been conducted in Uganda despite the COVID19 pandemic. He said under Mehta’s leadership, a camp was held in Parkian in Kashmir at 9000 feet last week for the benefit of the needy.

In April this year, then Secretary (West) Vikas Swarup had said at the UNSC open debate on ‘Mine action and sustaining peace: Stronger partnerships for better delivery’ that in October 2018, the ‘India for Humanity’ initiative was launched as a part of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th anniversary celebrations, with a focus on Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of compassion and service to humanity.

Under this initiative, 13 artificial limb fitment camps have been held by India in 12 countries and more than 6500 artificial limbs have been fitted, mainly in Asia and Africa. These camps were fully sponsored by Ministry of External Affairs and materialized by Bhagwan Mahaveer ViklangSahayata Samiti.

“We are pleased to convey that the limb fitment camps, which aim to provide for the physical, economic and social rehabilitation of the affected persons and help them regain their mobility and dignity, have now been extended up to March 2023. In this context, we acknowledge the association of BMVSS Jaipur, led by Dr. D.R. Mehta, for contributing artificial limb ‘Jaipur Foot’ for thousands affected by disabilities brought by conflicts and land mines,” Swarup had said. In November 2018, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu had inaugurated a ‘Jaipur Foot’ camp in Lilongwe, Malawi and distributed the free India-made prosthetic limb to several beneficiaries. The camp was launched under the ‘India for Humanity’ programme. Inaugurating the camp, Naidu had said the first Jaipur Foot camp in the series is launched in Malawi because it was in Africa that Gandhiji took his “first steps towards becoming a Mahatma, a great soul and later went on inspire a number of generations”.

(With inputs from PTI)