Hundreds of amputees could soon pay less for prosthetic limbs as the Hope Centre Fiji receives a $20,000 boost to reduce costs.

The funding from the Vodafone ATH Fiji Foundation will help the centre lower operational expenses and make prosthetic services more affordable for people living with limb loss.

Hope Centre Fiji Chairman Sanjit Patel says the support will allow more patients to access life-changing prosthetic limbs, with current costs ranging between $600 and $800 for below-knee limbs and $800 to $1,000 for above-knee limbs.

Patel says the reduction in fees will depend on the number of prosthetic limbs produced each year, but the aim is to make the service more accessible to those who need it most.

“At the moment we charge between $600 to $800 for below knee and around $800 to $1000 for above knee per patient, per limb. With this donation we will be able to reduce that fees to maybe 10% to 15% depending on how many we do in a year.”

For amputees like Rewa resident Peni Dobui, the service has provided a new sense of independence after waiting more than three decades for a prosthetic limb.

Dobui lost both his legs in a workplace accident 36 years ago and says the support from Hope Centre Fiji has changed his life.

“I went to Tamavua Twomey Hospital because I was there for four years, in the hospital for four years, and I asked them if they can give me one prosthetic, but they said they can’t do it because my limp was very short. This year I went to Facebook and I saw Hope Centre in Nadi. Then the phone number, and I gave them a call, and they answered my call and I explained to them about myself, my above knee amputee, and they replied. They said, you can come, we want to see you and have a talk with you. So the first day I came through this gate, I came here, and I thanked this man. The technician, he never said no to me.”

Another beneficiary, Dalip Singh, has also regained his independence after receiving a prosthetic limb following a diabetes-related amputation.

Singh says the support has allowed him to walk independently, return to farming and drive again.

The Hope Centre Fiji says the funding could help hundreds more amputees across the country access affordable prosthetic services and regain their quality of life.