**This is the page for Joe Hewitt - don't worry that you may see the name Trudy Owens on the donation page, she is the project leader - any money will go to my fund. Thanks, Joe**

Following the excellent work carried out by a team of orthotists and economists as part of the Polio Uganda Project 2012 (http://www.justgiving.com/Ugandadisabilityproject), the team will return in June 2013 to undertake the second year of the project, fitting disabled people, many of which suffer from polio, with assistive orthotic equipment.  

The project has grown substantially this year, with over double the amount of equipment kindly donated from around the UK (over 500 boxes full of equipment such as orthotic shoes, 500 KAFOs, 15 wheelchairs, 2000 crutches and more! - check out the pictures!).

It's fairly straightforward - I'm raising money to enable me to work on Uganda Polio Project 2013. The project is voluntary, but I need to cover my flights and accommodation to make my participation viable.

Here's what we do:

I'll be part of a group of economists conducting questionnaires with both old and new patients. For old patients (those fitted in 2012), I will collect information from them which will help establish the effect treatment has had on a variety of elements of their lives, eg. health, employment, family relations, transport, income. This will provide the basis for academic papers which will influence the future policy in Uganda around disabled people.

Similarly, for newly fitted patients (many of which we questionnaired but could not help on the previous trip but have equipment for this year) I will also collect information from them about their lives, which will again be used as part of the research.

Needless to say, I will be helping the orthotists as much as possible in their role fitting the equipment for patients, many of whom have severe disablibities often as a result of Polio. There are many pictures up on this page  from last year's trip showing the quality, and in many instances life changing, work carried out by the 2012 team https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/269297096423701/photos/ It would be great to see that difference being made in 2013 too!

I helped with the sorting and packing of a huge 40ft container full of orthotic equipment which left for Uganda from Nottingham on 16th March 2013 and will arrive in early June. Having worked at the university for the past three months analysing the data from last years trip, I understand the complexity of the project so I'm sure I will be a useful team member of team 2013.  Above all, I know it is a truly worthwhile cause (I've seen the data lol), so if you can donate, you're in the right place! :)

Joe x

 

 

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