The Organization of COPE

                In retrospect and from my recent experience this summer I have visited an area that luckily pertained to my subject matter. The facility that I have visited in my trip to Laos was called COPE. Cope is the provider of prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation services in Laos and other countries. Their motto “Helping People Move On” and literally. Villagers who have lost an arm or leg can come here and get a fake plastic one made for them, with basic kinetic functions to let them use basic hand/leg functions such as bending their knees to walk with their prosthetic legs. They have a separate building for the production of these prosthetics, they first make a mold using the patients opposite legs and use markers to draw on the mold and create a diagram to ensure right measurements for the patient. Using a special substance, the builders pour the special liquid into the mold creating the base of the prosthetics, and using sticks for support and shaving down some part of the fake legs (to create balance) they add a strap which will bond the prosthetic and patient together. What is also nice about this facility is that it doesn’t just create prosthetics for victims, but they also help rehabilitate them and educate everybody on the issue. The saddest part was the drawings drawn by victims especially children, of their story and witness the deaths of their family members. They also have displays of different bombs and landmines around and there components, and a display of a real villagers home (Which looks like a treehouse) and it looks like a still-like scene of a bombed house. What was also neat was that they had an example of how they helped their patients. For example if a patient only had one arm, they created something called “The Box” where there were a box with two arm slots, of course you pretend to stick both arms inside each slot although you had one. But although that seemed pointless it isn’t! One side of the box had mirrors that reflects the other arm. So when you stick your arms inside it feels as if you still had both arms! It was a mental trick but it felt so real. Commentary from patients were heart breaking as you see them cry that they felt like they still had both arms.

                This institute was created to help the victims from bombing and land mines during the war and post-war times. The people who works with Cope works hard to make the victims of landmines and bombing a bit more easily so that they can move on. By creating prosthetics for these victims they can physically move on, no need for limping or crutches to support themselves up, now they have a fake leg that can perform the basic functions of a real one. They also don’t just focus physically on the patients, but mentally as well. To help them cope for a bit they have created a special box which allowed the patients to feel as if they had a second arm again. This helps them get the feeling back of what it’s like to have some sort of nerves in that area that was loss. What they have done that took things a bit further for the good of these victims was that they also educated the non-victims with stories and video documentaries from actual victims. The sorrow in their stories allowed many to understand what they are going through, and give them a sense of respect. By doing these things the institute of COPE really does make a huge difference for these people of great loss.

                I thought I knew what needed to know about victims with missing limbs, as horrible as it sounds but I use to think that they were just people who were in accidents and just got an arm or two blown off. However I was dead wrong, and I shouldn’t even use the word dead because these people could have been dead but were lucky enough to live. Going through the Cope institute and reading the pictures drawn on the walls by children I couldn’t help but drop a tear. Stories like somebody’s grandmother walking to the local market and never coming back because they found her that night with her limbs blown off. These victims have faced more hardship than anybody can really understand, to lose a loved one, or to lose a piece of yourself. It’s worse than anyone can imagine, I can complain that I lost a good grade, but what is that compared to losing an arm. During that whole trip I would have to say the education part is the most valuable thing I’ve gotten from there. How misfortunate it is for children and villagers to succumb to such wounds that they don’t even deserve. If the wars and genocide weren’t enough for these people to deal with, I think it’s worse that the aftermath is still there present to become a risk to these people.