“Can you make me a new leg?”

Imagine a world in which a fourteen-year-old boy could get a skin infection caused by an everyday wound and end up losing his leg. Mission workers Ingrid and Roger Hamlet, based in Chad, don’t have to imagine it. It’s an all-too-common occurrence. In Chad, broken limbs, puncture wounds and even insect bites can quickly become infected, with catastrophic consequences. It’s part of the reason Ingrid and Roger have committed their prosthetics and orthotics skills to Guinebor II Hospital (G2) in Chad, wanting to use their training in a country with overwhelming levels of need. They moved to Chad’s capital, N'Djamena, at the start of 2025 and they’re already hard at work setting up a hospital department that could treat patients like this young teenager. The boy had undergone a life-saving amputation at G2 Hospital the previous year, and had been using crutches ever since. Now, meeting Roger for the first time, he asked in faith, “Can you make me a new leg?”

In the summer, BMS launched an urgent appeal asking for support for Ingrid, Roger and their work. You responded with incredible generosity, giving a total of £32,059.54. Sixteen supporters also set up new regular giving pledges, with one supporter saying, “Now that I know what [the Hamlets] do, I can pray for them too! Praying the Lord's blessing on all they do!” Ingrid and Roger know they are right at the beginning of a long journey. Your support has been a much-needed boost, reassuring them that they aren’t doing this alone. “Roger had to tell that fourteen-year-old boy… ‘Not yet’,” Ingrid explains. The story is heartbreaking, but Ingrid is encouraged. “We’re really very grateful and touched that so many care for the needs of people with disabilities here in Chad. The need is huge. It really means a lot that so many are willing to walk alongside us with the new prosthetics and orthotics project.”

Ingrid shares the story of a nine-month-old baby, Brahim*, whose mother brought him over 1,000 km to the hospital to receive care. It’s thanks to your generosity that Ingrid’s been able to make a weekly visit to the Chadian team that’s treating the little boy, assessing needs so the future department can care well for patients. “The clinic is a mixture of 1-2-1 physio (stretching, strengthening massage), walking practice within the parallel bars or frames for those that are able, or having time in the standing frame, which is really important for bone density, circulation, digestion and posture, amongst other things,” Ingrid explains. At this stage, it’s about seeing how far younger children’s development can be encouraged for a future where they might benefit from an orthotic. Brahim wasn’t able to sit independently or hold his head up, and the clinic has made a diagnosis of Global developmental delay. “He’s a very sweet, smiley, alert baby who wants to interact with the world around him but is unable to at the moment. This is improving, though, and he will lift his head to sounds and stretch out his limbs himself now,” says Ingrid.

While this longer-term treatment continues, there are exciting developments in range of equipment the Hamlets will have available to them to treat patients. Plans for a new building close to the pre-existing physio department have been drawn up, as well as quotes for the building, electrics, plumbing and a solar power system to power their workshop. A gas oven is being constructed this month, and once complete, will enable Ingrid and Roger to heat up plastics and foams in order to custom-make prosthetic sockets and liners (the part of the prosthesis in contact with someone’s residual limb) and orthotic devices like custom ankle-foot-orthoses. They’ll also be able to use the hand tools purchased with the support of BMS donors – though more expensive workshop essentials will need to be purchased before Ingrid and Roger can complete the full spectrum of work they hope to.

Things are still in the early stages, and in Chad, nothing is simple. It’s part of the reason this specialist medical work is so needed, with only six other practitioners in the country. With every piece of equipment acquired, there’s an unexpected challenge. But your support is doing what’s most important: keeping Ingrid and Roger right where they need to be.

It means that for every patient coming to G2 for mobility support, a new, brighter future has opened up where there wasn’t one before. Ingrid remembers a little girl attending the child development unit earlier in the year. She was left using an ankle-foot-orthosis due to paralysis following a poorly administered injection. Her dad was very pleased to be told that in the future as she grows, they could have her custom orthosis made at G2. His joy at the news is thanks to you, and your support of Ingrid and Roger. Thank you for joining them on this pioneering journey!

*Name changed.