Help with Food
CIREC – the way back, since the start 1976, CIREC has helped around 40,000 people, irrespective of gender, religion, age, color or the cause of their disability. The organization is well-known for its prosthetic workshop but also for the programs they have developed. CIREC provides not only the needy with prostheses, it also has a holistic approach and a social responsibility that shines through its work. Among others, they have developed rehabilitation program with emphasis on psychosocial support, which includes family and society. In their rehabilitation programs they cater to many different parts of your life, such as sports, culture, art, leisure, education and activities to find opportunities for self-sufficiency for those with a disability.
A Place in Society
CIREC, Colombia's first prosthesis workshop for "ordinary" people, was started by Jeanette and her husband, orthopedic doctor Rafael de Saravia. In addition to try out and produce prostheses, patients at CIREC were also taught to use their prostheses. It takes time and patience to learn quite mundane things like to walk, sit in a chair, eat, write, dress and more. When Jeanette was in school to become a physiotherapist she discovered that the majority of her patients stayed in the hospital rather than to face a society that despised them. Recognition of this has resulted in CIREC putting considerable focus on integration and reintegration into society. Star of Hope's aid goes mainly to this work.
Many of the handicap patients are not only outcasts from society, but also their own families. The loss of a leg or an arm has taken from them all, ability to work, place in society, family and eventually even self-esteem. Through several sub organizations working with all of these areas and they lend great support. Thousands of people can testify that thanks to support from CIREC, they regained their dignity and found a place in society. The journey back has not only changed lives for individuals but whole families have been re-established and self-worth and faith in life again.
Activities at CIREC are wholly dependent on gifts. Everything from salary for the staff to the materials and equipment for the manufacture of prostheses must be funded since most of the patients in CIREC can't afford to pay.
