Mending bones and healing broken spirits

Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (HRDC)

In developing countries like Nepal, physi¬cal disability is more common than in the West, and much more debilitating. Here, we can hardly imagine birth de¬fects, clubfoot, broken bones, and burns going untreated—but in Nepal this is all too common for the poor. This is why Dr. Ashok Banskota, a world renowned ortho¬pedic surgeon, founded HRDC.

Dr. Banskota is a hero in the truest sense—just ask one of the 1,400 kids whose lives were changed this year. Imagine growing-up without resources in a country where a disability means isolation, ridicule, and neglect. Now imagine that child waking up one day able to go to school, move freely, have friends and hope, and be a productive and accepted member of their village. HRDC makes all this possible for so many.
HRDC Fast Facts
Since the hospital opened in 1997 …
40,000 children’s lives have been changed

In 2008 alone …
1,400 surgeries were performed
5,000 children received home visits
8,300 patients were in follow-up care
2,600 orthotic and prosthetic devices were fabricated

Cost per surgery: $150
The total number of children HRDC helped last year: 11,444.