Imagine yourself crawling on the ground for the first two decades of your life. Looked down on, literally if not figuratively, as you are unable to walk – provided no wheelchair, cane or prosthetics to assist you in daily life. Imagine the thrill and fright of standing for the first time, having never been so far from the ground. This is the heart wrenching picture painted by Sister Elizabeth Newman, Director of the Orthopedic Training Center (OTC) in Nsawam, Ghana.
Eric Gaba, 2019 Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumnus, is a Biomedical Engineer working at the Br. Tarcisius Prosthetics & Orthotics Training College (BTPOTC); an offshoot of OTC, as a Health Tutor. Gaba is on a mission to help restore socio-economic status to Ghanaian people with mobility disabilities. His goal is to acquire a motion analysis set-up for OTC and BTOPC. This setup would allow them to establish evidence-based clinical practice and education in Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O). OTC’s current deficiency in this area makes it impossible to assess the impact of orthopedic devices on clients and thus complicates the ability to improve on service delivery.
During his Leadership Institute at Boise State University in 2019, Gaba was mentored by Emerson Innovation Technologist Kaz Lawler. Together they toured and met with a number of groups positioned to assist Gaba. “We started our discussion with Matt Perkins, and extended it with JoAnn Lighty, Ph.D., Dean of the Boise State College of Engineering,” commented Lawler. “We are working to establish projects between Coyote, BSU, and OTC investigating Eric’s graduate work on using fibrous plant material in lieu of carbon fiber for some prosthetics and orthotics.
Matt Perkins, CEO and President of Coyote Design, provided Gaba access to Coyote’s on-line training program and the two are hoping to apply for a Grant that will fund a visit by Perkins to the OTC in Ghana. Idaho and Boise State have a lot to offer in skills and capabilities to improve the lives of others around the world. While distance and a global pandemic has challenged progress, Gaba’s aspiration of making the world a better place one small section at a time has not diminished.
“I believe it will be your joy to [give others] the needed help to live beyond their disabilities,” says Gaba. Indeed, it has been our joy to meet this motivational young leader and to support his passion.