Losing a limb is traumatic in any circumstances, but it can become a poverty trap for those without access to advanced medical care. The Indian state of Rajasthan is home to one of the world's largest charities devoted to empowering amputees by giving them new prosthetic limbs, and a new life.
不论在什么情况下，失去肢体都是重大的创伤。无法获得先进医疗的患者也可能会陷入贫困。印度拉贾斯坦邦的一个慈善机构致力于造福被截肢的病患，为他们提供新型的义肢和新的生活。
Two-year-old Vaishnavi's mother loves her very much. She takes good care of her daughter and handles her surprisingly well - considering she has no arms.
年仅两岁的小女孩瓦什娜薇深得母亲疼爱。这名母亲虽然失去了双臂，还能将她的小女儿照顾得无微不至。
Sangeeta explains that she lost her arms as a result of electrocution. She says she was working near electrical lines and water spilled onto a metal rod she was carrying.
母亲桑吉塔说：她是在一场触电意外中失去双臂的。那时她工作的位置靠近电线，一波水淋到她手中的金属棒，导致这场灾祸。
She and her family have come to this Jaipur facility to receive a set of replacement arms.
她和家人来到提供义肢的慈善机构，这里的义肢产品被称为“Jaipur foot”--“斋浦尔足”。
It is known locally as Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahitya Samiti, but more commonly referred to by its most famous product: "Jaipur Foot."
More than one and a quarter million patients have received prosthetic legs, knees, arms, and hands produced by the facility since it was founded in 1975.
自从这个慈善机构于1975年成立以来，已经有125五万余名患者接受了他们安装的义肢，包括他们制造的假腿，关节，手臂和手掌。
"Nobody has to write to us," said Mehta. "They just walk in. Immediately they arrive, they are admitted. They are given food. They are given all facilities, given limbs in two or three days and they go back."
斋浦尔足慈善机构的创办人梅塔医生说：“他们不须要事先写信告诉我们。只要走进来这里。他们一到，就受到安排。他们在这里有食物供应。他们接受一切设施的协助。在两、三天之内安装好义肢，然后回家。”
D.R. Mehta, a former civil servant, started Jaipur Foot after an accident decades ago nearly cost him his own foot. The months he spent recovering in the hospital put him in contact with fellow Indians who were not so fortunate - most of them from among the country's poorest people.
梅塔医生过去是一名公务员，他在十年前的一场意外，几乎失去自己的脚之后，成立“斋浦尔足”机构。他在事发后留医疗养的期间，结识了一些比他不幸的印度朋友。这些人大多数来自这个国家最穷困的族群。
"Losing a limb also meant losing economic status," he said. "They [the victims] cease to be useful. They lose respect even in the house."
他说：“丧失肢体等于丧失了经济能力。他们不再有用，甚至在自己家中，也失去了尊严。”
Sangeeta understands very well the economic burden a lost limb can put on an entire family.
桑吉塔非常明白，一个人丧失了肢体，会给全家带来多大的经济负担。
She says cooking food is a big problem. Her husband does the cooking, she says, so he often is late to work or cannot work at all. She says they sometimes have to ask the neighbors for help. It's a big hassle, she says.
她说，做饭就是一大问题。 她的丈夫只好负责做饭。因此他经常上班迟到，或者根本无法上班。她说，有时他们只好求助于邻居。那真是一个大麻烦。
"It's so satisfying for me, personally," said Mehta. "A person comes in crawling. He gets a limb in a day or two, for no charge at all, and walks out - like you and me, making a truncated being whole again. Seeing them going back and working in the field, working in the factory, it's not merely giving a limb - it's restoring their economic power."
梅塔医生说：“对我个人来说，那是一项极大的满足。一个人爬着进来，他在一、两天之内安装了完全免费的义肢，然后像你我一样走了出去，使残缺的又恢复完整。看见他们回到田间和工厂去工作，感觉那不仅仅是给了他们义肢，那是恢复了他们的经济能力。”
Even patients who could afford other treatment options come to Jaipur Foot because of its reputation for quality.
由于“斋浦尔足”的声誉和品质，有些人即使有能力接受其它医疗，还是选择来到这里求助。
"I'm from Penang, Malaysia. When I was nine, I had an accident. A truck ran over me and they couldn't save the foot," said a female patient. "So I've been wearing a prosthesis since I was nine, and I'm 40 now. I came to get a new prosthesis. It's always been a dream to come to Jaipur to get a Jaipur prosthesis. So it's like a dream come true. I can't wait to get moving!"
女性患者塞恩说：“我来自马来西亚槟榔屿。我9岁那年遭遇一次意外，被一辆卡车撞倒压过。我的脚无法保住。从那时起我就一直装着一只义足。现在我40岁了。我来为了安装一只新的义足来到这里。这是我过去一直怀着的梦想，现在我的梦想实现了。”
Jaipur Foot receives about a third of its funding directly from the Indian government. The rest comes from corporate and private donors.
斋浦尔足机构的经费，大约有三分之一来自印度政府的补助。其余部分靠公司和私人的捐助。
It operates limb replacement camps in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and many other countries where war and landmines have robbed people of limbs.
他们也在巴基斯坦，斯里兰卡，阿富汗和许多其它国家设立义肢营地。这些战乱中的国家里许多人民遭遇地雷袭击，丧失了肢体。
As for Sangeeta - it will take some time and practice for her to master using her new limbs to grasp objects. She says she looks forward to resuming work in the kitchen - and to brushing her own hair.
对桑吉塔来说，她还须要花时间，练习使用新装的手臂拿东西。她说，她期望能恢复在厨房里的工作，同时，还能梳理自己的头发。 |