Lives
Rebuilt
From Myanmar to Ukraine, these personal stories highlight the resilience of people living with the consequences of war and disaster. Each story reflects the impact of physical rehabilitation – restoring dignity, independence, and hope.
Bangladesh
Habibur with his family, whose leg was amputated following an accident, is back on his feet. The Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in Bangladesh, with help from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), provided him with a prosthetic leg.
Copyright: ICRC | Photographer: Shabir Hussain
Copyright: ICRC | Photographer: Hugh Kinsella Cunningham
Central African Republic
Abas Nour, an 18-year-old patient at the Bangui Physical Rehabilitation Center, exercises to walk with his prosthetic leg. In 2021, Abas was ambushed by a militia on a bus he was traveling on between the towns of Bria and Bambari. The bus was set on fire, and Abas was shot in both legs. He saw other passengers killed. He was rescued from the bush and transferred to the hospital in Bambari. His leg had to be amputated. After using crutches, he began a treatment program with the ICRC’s PRP center and is learning to walk with a prosthesis. Bangui, Central African Republic.
Ethiopia
Physical Rehabilitation service at the satellite center in Suhul regional hospital in Shirre, Ethiopia. The ICRC physiotherapist is following the fitting process and rehabilitation of a war-wounded amputee who just received his prosthesis made with the ICRC technology.
Copyright: ICRC | Photographer: Alyona
Copyright: ICRC | Photographer: Mike Khalaf
Iraq
“It was challenging to stay at home, unable to walk. I used to have wonderful times with my father, who took me along and taught me how to raise cattle and tend sheep in the mountains when I was a child” says Omar Aziz, a 25-year-old shepherd, who lost his legs after stepping on a landmine in March 2024. Omar received a prosthesis from the ICRC at the Erbil Physical Rehabilitation Centre in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and is slowly adapting to his new reality with the help of his prosthesis.
Iraq
A man who lost his legs when he drove his car over a landmine in Mosul in 2014 is being assisted by a physiotherapist during the rehabilitation process with this prosthesis at the PRC.
Copyright: ICRC | Photographer: Saara Mansikkamäki
Myanmar
As the conflict continues, the number of explosive devices victims continues to rise. “Last year, I felt like I had lost everything after stepping on a landmine,” said Bawk Mai, a 16-year-old girl from Mogaung Township. “Shortly after, I received a prosthesis and treatment at the Myitkyina Physical Rehabilitation Centre in Myanmar. For my emotional recovery, I received mental health and psychosocial support services. I found a ray of hope through the ICRC’s educational support. Now I have the opportunity to continue my education and reconnect with friends and family, ” Bawk Mai added.
Copyright: ICRC | Photographer: Zaw Hpang Daung
Soudan
Makur Madof Diet, 46 years old, is both a service user and a staff member. His left leg was amputated after being injured by gunshot in 1998.
Copyright: ICRC | Photographer: Mari Aftret Mørtvedt
Copyright: ICRC | Photographer: Walter Tuni
Syria
Second year students, intake 2022-2024 from the P&O training at Health Technical Institute (HTI) in Damascus, Syria, supported by ICRC introduced on appropriated use of Polypropylene technology on lower limb prosthetics with ICRC experts.
Ukraine
A physical therapy session for an amputee at the Kharkiv University Clinic in Ukraine. The ICRC physiotherapist is coaching the local physiotherapist on stump exercises to prepare the amputee to receive his prosthesis.
