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The New Brunswick Telegraph Journal NBers helping victims of land mines in Nicaragua ALAN WHITE Fredericton - New Brunswickers are helping land-mine victims in Nicaragua.Rachel Larivee is co-ordinating an effort to collect used artificial limbs, crutches, wheelchairs and related medical supplies to forward to the Central American country. The effort of the Falls Brook Centre near Florenceville resulted in a U-Haul trailer load of artificial hands and legs, braces, crutches, stump socks and the like being collected through A.R. Menzies Sons in Fredericton, the Saint John Rehabilitation Centre and the Moncton Hospital. The collected materials are now en route to Nicaragua, where they will be distributed to some of those who have been injured by a land-mine explosion. Most injured Nicaraguans could never afford such materials, said Ms. Larivee. "It's not a social system of health care and a new prosthesis can cost hundreds of American dollars. "We've made connections with the main rehab centre in Nicaragua. We will trade cargo and limbs for credit in the centre and then people in our project can go and have access to the facilities and the physical rehab that they need." The care package of goods collected by the Falls Brook Centre - a charitable group that promotes sustainable development - is part of a project that is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. One part of the effort is to have those who have been injured by land mines trained to build solar panels, which are then installed in schools, community centres and other facilities in a country where 40 per cent of the people have no access to electricity. "We call it Limbs and Light for Nicaragua," said Ms. Larivee. While the "light" in the slogan refers to the solar generation aspect of the project, the campaign is also being used in an attempt to get the United States to "see the light" and join 90 other countries in signing a treaty to ban land mines. The trailer of limbs - which is emblazoned with signs and slogans about banning land mines - is making its way to Nicaragua by way of Iowa, where it was taken earlier this month for an activist training workshop. Ms. Larivee and the trailer were in Des Moines for the workshop at the same time as American presidential hopefuls were in the city on the campaign trail for their party's nomination. She joined American activists in calling on all the presidential candidates to commit to having the U.S. sign the land-mine treaty if elected. "I feel a strong connection with trying to get the States to sign the treaty," said Ms. Larivee. "If this can be one small step in the scheme of things in getting them to sign it, I'm very happy." Every NATO country except the U.S. and Turkey have signed the land-mine treaty. The U.S. has more than 10 million land mines stockpiled. It is estimated that every week, 500 people are maimed or killed by land mines around the world. Telegraph Journal Category: News © 2000 Telegraph-Journal - New Brunswick. All rights reserved. |
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