Written by Beth van As

I know this is really girly and probably super cheesy but I cried when I watched this video put together by Not Impossible Labs dedicated to Rich. As the wife who has been on this journey with Rich since he cut off his fingers, and being personally and emotionally invested in Rich and Robohand, it is quite scary when some one else puts something like this together and shows you how far your journey really has come.

I think people forget that Robohand is a Not For Profit organisation and that we do this in our spare time. We are not a massive organisation with many employees and an endless bank account. We are two individuals with a vision to enable the world. We now have a third member Leonard, who is handling all our communications, media, and the business side of Robohand. Plus he still jumps in and makes hands when he can. He attends all the events when time allows and interacts with people where Rich is bombarded and there is not enough of him to go around.

We do not have a Web design team that handles our Website, Facebook and Twitter accounts. We do not have an admin clerk that handles all 7 email accounts of hundreds of queries we get everyday. This is done by Rich and myself. In our spare time. We have friends like those at Pixel Magic who gave us guidance by redesigning our website and making it easier for me to manage, Schalk Heunis from House4Hack who donates his time to help out at Robohand HQ, my sister who translates for us and sits on our committee to keep us centred.

When I look back over the passed months and I watch a video like this one put together by Not Impossible Labs, I cannot believe how much we have achieved in such a short amount of time – and that in our spare time too!

We rely solely on donations from the public. The kits that we put together and send all over the world, are charged for but cover material costs only. Everything else comes out of our back pocket or from the public’s generous donations. We do not get paid for the time that we spend making hands for people or educating the public on how to make hands.

When we were approached to open a Robohand office in the USA and Australia we realised that there are very passionate people all over the world who want to contribute in some way. Unfortunately everyone needs to earn a salary to be able to live and give back to their communities. It is for that reason that both our International offices charge for their time as well as their material. This is their full time job. It takes approximately 10 hours to fit a Robohand to an individual. This excludes the 5 hour print time for the parts of the Robohand. Each fitting is customised and very personal. It’s almost like going to the doctor’s office. And going forward Rich will be charging for his time too.

I am going to put it out there now. Robohand will charge US$2000.00 for a customized fitted Robohand. Whether it be in person or via a long distance collaboration. This is very cheap considering Robohand is not mass produced.

The design and files are free and available for download from the internet. We are happy for people to make their own Robohands. Collaborate with your school, University, Friends and Colleagues to help someone in your community. Purchase a Robobeast printer which has all the design files already on it and enable people in your community. Upload your pictures and your stories to our Facebook page. Spread the news and engage with people who have upper limb differences. Or contact one of our offices, have an assessment done and Robohand will create your medically safe Robohand for you.

My heart bleeds for the thousands of amputees all over the world and I wish that I could wave my magic wand and they could all have Robohands for free. Unfortunately this is not the reality we live in. Each person that comes through our doors walks a journey with us and us with them.  When I see the smiling faces frozen in time on a photograph or video, it makes my heart smile wider than I thought possible. When I think about the dreams of people who have received Robohands being realised, I get a funny feeling in my stomach and it makes me glow with happiness.

From the beginning Robohand has been about enabling. Not Impossible Labs took that to the next level with Project Daniel when they went to the Sudan. I get goose bumps when I think about the amazing things that are happening there and how many people will be enabled due to their generosity.

Take your future into your own hands. Go and ENABLE!