Help for the Children of Gaza

Ottobock and the Ottobock Global Foundation continue to face the challenge of treating as many disabled children from Gaza as possible with medical devices in a safe environment. After the first children in neighboring Egypt were treated by the partner company Orthomedics, it has now been possible to provide 21 children with prostheses at the Ottobock Patient Care clinic in Ankara. Managing Director Orkun Taskin, Technical Manager Sabri Sahin and Senior Technical Implementation Manager Ömer Deveci report on the background in an interview:

Who initiated the relief campaign?

Orkun Taskin: Following the appeal for donations by the Ottobock Global Foundation, we at Ottobock Turkiye took up the project and identified 21 children from Gaza. The next step was to take a medical history in order to draw up a treatment plan based on the results.

Which stakeholders are involved in the project?

Sabri Sahin: First of all, we obtained approval from the Turkish Ministry of Health, which played a leading role in the transfer of the young patients. The financial support of the Ottobock Global Foundation and the great commitment of our Turkish colleagues are indispensable.

Orkun Taskin: In order to implement the treatments, we work closely with the Bilkent City Hospital in Ankara. Prof. Dr. Emre Adigüzel, as head of the Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, is our first point of contact. Only by joining forces were we able to give the children from Gaza new hope. Many thanks to everyone involved!

What was the biggest challenge in providing care?

Sabri Sahin: The overwhelming emotions. It is more than just a relief campaign. This experience holds a very special place in my heart. We had already been involved in previous relief campaigns, but the situation in Palestine is different: we could see the traces of the war in the faces of the children, their anger, their helpless looks… Some of them seemed to question their lives. With the prostheses, we were able to make them smile again. This feeling was contagious, simply indescribable.

Ömer Deveci: The project touched me deeply. My first thoughts were with the children and what they experienced. Completely innocent and helpless, they lost everything in the war. It’s so surreal: while we are living our everyday lives in a peaceful country, we suddenly become witnesses to such a great injustice. It is a matter close to my heart to help the children.

In addition to the emotional challenge, we also faced a language barrier that we were able to overcome through body language and professional translators.

What expectations do you have of the treatments?

Orkun Taskin: We cannot undo what they have experienced, but we can make life a little easier for the affected children and their families. With the treatments, we have taken an important first step on their way to a more mobile life.

Sabri Sahin: Let them regain their lives! From one moment to the next, her world collapsed. We want to be a constant for our young patients in this uncertain situation, but at the same time we are faced with many questions. During their growth, the prostheses must be checked and adjusted every six months. But: will they still be here then? Will the political situation in Palestine calm down? And even if it does, will it even be possible to provide follow-up treatments in their home country due to the destroyed infrastructure?

Ömer Deveci: Many of the children were very active before their amputation – they played soccer and were constantly on the move. I would like to pick up this ball to enable them to participate in social life again. Sponsorships to promote education or orientation aids for special professions would be conceivable.

What was your most memorable moment with the children?

Sabri Sahin: During the treatments, the children said this sentence: “We have forgotten the war!” Everything that lay behind them became very small at that moment. They did not want to be reminded of the terrible experiences. I still get goosebumps when I think about it today.

And then there was an unforgettable reaction of a child to a gift from us. Most children would have opened it immediately. But this girl got lost in her thoughts and didn’t want to open it. She carries the reason for this with her to this day as a secret.

Ömer Deveci: I was very touched by the fact that the children insisted on being allowed to take their prostheses with them. They were afraid that they might be taken away again. I will also never forget the children’s answer to our question for an interview: “The whole world knows about the cruelty we were subjected to. What else is there to say?”

Sabri Sahin ergänzt: If we claimed that we could understand their feelings, we would be lying.

Are there already reactions to your relief campaign?

Sabri Sahin: At the moment it is still too early to sum up. But the most important thing is that we touched the children’s lives in a positive way.

Ömer Deveci: Each of us contributed what felt right. If you put your heart into it, you don’t need confirmation.