In the morning, we met Santiago Castellón, director of the Polus Center, a nonprofit that operates a number of different projects in Nicaragua. Our first stop with Santiago was Caminando Unidos (Walking United), a workshop where adult and pediatric prosthetics are fabricated. Initially, because of the Revolution and Contra War, the center created prosthetics mostly for people who had lost limbs as a result of war.
Now, however, diabetes and motor vehicle accidents are the most common reasons for patients to need their prostheses. We toured the molding, casting, and finishing areas, and spoke with workers, many of whom used prosthetics made by the center.
Now, however, diabetes and motor vehicle accidents are the most common reasons for patients to need their prostheses. We toured the molding, casting, and finishing areas, and spoke with workers, many of whom used prosthetics made by the center.
We then proceeded to a private workshop that constructs wheelchairs. The ingenuity on display in each of the wheelchairs we saw was simply striking. From the image of a chair with wheels that most people probably have in their minds, to a hand-powered racing chair, to all sizes of pediatric chairs, the center truly seemed able to craft nearly any design to fit the physical needs of its clients.
Late in the morning, we visited Santiago’s office, where we found a collection of Red Sox memorabilia that would rival even that of the most ardent Boston fan. That afternoon, we had Spanish classes at Dariana.
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