A lifeline for rural amputees: UK charity STAND opens a major prosthetics centre in The Gambia

UK prosthetics charity STAND has renovated and opened a new rehabilitation centre in The Gambia, West Africa, marking a major step forward in providing prosthetic legs to rural amputees.

STAND supplies refurbished prosthetic legs to The Gambia, donated from across the globe. Locating this new centre in the heart of the country gives rural amputees direct access to these precious prosthetic limbs, as well as more responsive follow-up care and more reliable rehabilitation services.

The project has been driven by STAND, working in close partnership with The Gambia’s Ministry of Health, with financial support coming from STAND’s key supporters like The British School of Paris. The collaboration reflects a global commitment to strengthening and improving prosthetic care for amputees.

Before the centre, amputees travelled hundreds of miles to be fitted with a leg, as the main rehabilitation centre is located in the capital. STAND and its partners also funded outreach programmes which visited rural towns by car. While these visits were essential, it clearly was not an efficient or sustainable model.

STAND’s Trustee Lucy Gates, The Gambia’s Director of the Department of Social Welfare Allaye Barra, the Gambian press, STAND’s Gambian staff, and the community attended the opening.

Tom Williams OBE, founder of STAND:
“This centre brings prosthetic and rehabilitation services within reach of people who have been excluded for too long. Distance should never determine who gets to walk again. When mobility is restored, the barriers that once limited amputees begin to disappear, opening the door to walking, working, and truly thriving.”

Giles Bates, Head of Community and Service at The British School of Paris:
“A prosthetic limb can give a child an education, friends and a future filled with hope. We hope that the BSP's contribution towards STAND's new rehabilitation centre in Bansang in The Gambia will help make this a reality for the local community.”