He gained new confidence through the provision of a modern prosthesis: Abdul Rahim Nagibulla lost his leg through a mine.
When a German Army doctor in Afghanistan became aware of his poor quality prosthesis, the life of Abdul Rahim Nagibulla changed. He came to Germany for a week and was given a professional leg prosthesis with modern medi module components through the long-established orthopaedic workshop of Seeger in Berlin. The result is that he can finally walk properly again.
Childhood in Afghanistan
Abdul Rahim Nagibulla knows nothing else. His homeland has been marked by conflicts since he was born in 1987 in Kabul. The young man looks far older than he is. He has been shaped by his life - because Abdul Rahim Nagibulla has already gone through so much. He contracted polio as a child in Afghanistan and thereafter found it difficult to walk. At the age of eight, he suffered another blow when he stepped on a mine whilst playing and lost his right leg.
A charitable organisation then took him under its wing and this altered his entire life. Because medical care in Afghanistan is lacking, the boy was sent to Germany - ''and that was my good fortune'', says Abdul Rahim Nagibulla, because I then got my first proper prosthesis. With the help of the doctors and nurses, as well as of my temporary foster family later on, I also learnt to speak very good German!"
To be able to speak German is just as important for Abdul Rahim Nagibulla as the provision of a prosthesis, because nowadays he is living back in Afghanistan and, with his knowledge of German, can work as an interpreter in an German Army hospital. ''This is a chance that I would not otherwise have had“, he explains, because in his homeland, people with disabilities have it hard and are often excluded from society and cannot find work. Abdul Rahim Nagibulla no longer has any contact with his family. ''It is very difficult. My fellow countrymen are mistrustful and often don't want to work with me at all. That's not only because of my disability, but because I work for the West“.
Prosthesis care: Seeger helps
Abdul Rahim Nagibulla doesn't understand this negative attitude because he has only had good experiences. As a child he received his first prosthesis in Germany. The German Army offered him a real chance with the job as an interpreter and, with the new prosthesis from surgical supplies retailer Seeger, remains strongly committed to him. ''Germany is very open-minded and friendly. I am glad that, with my work as translator, I can give something back for all the help that I have received“. Nagibulla also sees himself - in a figurative sense - as an ambassador.
Following his stay in Berlin, Abdul Rahim Nagibulla thinks that he would like to train as an orthopaedic technician one day. In this way, he wants to help other leg amputees, just as he himself has been helped ''That is my dream''.