For a year now, the fighting in Gaza has led to a humanitarian crisis. While the entire medical infrastructure has collapsed, the number of amputations continues to rise. With a joint relief campaign, Ottobock and the Ottobock Global Foundation (OBGF) are helping children who lost their limbs in the attacks to receive prosthetic treatment. Ottobock’s mobile container workshops are now moving into the crisis region to help the disabled on site.

What has happened so far…

The initiative began by Professor Hans Georg Näder as the initiator of OBGF making an appeal for donations in December 2023. “Thanks to the great willingness to help, the proximity to Ottobock with a global care network and partnerships with international aid organisations, we have succeeded in treating 38 children from the crisis region in a safe environment,” says Christin Franzel, member of the OBGF board.

21 treatments in Turkey

Initially 17 children received treatment from our partner company Orthomedics in neighbouring Egypt. Now 21 children have received a prosthesis at the Ottobock Patient Care facility in Ankara. A film team documented the project in this video.

“We can’t undo what they’ve experienced, but we can make the lives of the affected children and their families a little easier,” says Orkun Taskin, who oversaw the treatments as Managing Director Ottobock Turkey. Together with Technical Manager Sabri Sahin and Technical Implementation Manager Ömer Deveci, he talks about the challenges, ambitions and deep emotions of traumatised children in this interview.

Four mobile containers for Gaza

“In parallel to our activities in neighbouring countries and in our Patient Care facilities across Europe, we have manufactured mobile containers for use directly in the crisis region,” explains Oliver Jakobi, Ottobock CEO and member of OBGF’s Executive Board. “Saving the disabled from Gaza remains a major challenge in order to provide them with treatment abroad in a safe environment.”

The team from Ottobock Equipment in Nieuwkuijk in the Netherlands was commissioned to develop four mobile container solutions that are now on their way to the Gaza Strip. Specifically, this involves one Patient Care container and two workshop containers that are equipped according to the latest state of the art. Ottobock materials and components will be available in another storage container.

Global support

Day in and day out, Ottobock realises how the precarious situation in Gaza is affecting people all over the world. “The commitment is overwhelming. Our special thanks go to people such as the Australian Meagan Shand, who supports our relief campaign out of her altruistic motivation,” Christin Franzel emphasises. Meagan Shand, who wears a prosthesis herself, became aware of the commitment to the children in Gaza via the company website. She approached Ottobock shortly before her 60th birthday in September with the idea of launching a separate fundraising campaign for the children in Gaza instead of gifts.

If you would like to support the relief campaign “People in Need – Help for the Children of Gaza”, please send your donation to the following special account:

Ottobock Global Foundation

Deutsche Bank

IBAN: DE55 1007 0000 0937 0370 00

BIC: DEUTDEBBXXX

Keyword: "People in Need – Help for the Children of Gaza"