Therdchai Jivacate

2008 Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service from Thailand. As a young orthopedist practicing in Chiang Mai, Dr. Therdchai Jivacate observed how many amputees in northern Thailand had to resort to makeshift limbs, as the cost of most prosthetic limbs was well beyond the reach of ordinary people who needed them. Using his own money, Therdchai began to experiment with cheap and sturdy artificial alternatives, using local materials including recycled plastic yoghurt bottles. Tinkering constantly to simplify the fabrication process and adapt the limbs to local needs, he developed a “farmer’s foot” for working in wet and slippery fields, and another foot for wearing flip-flops, providing these to poor patients for free. To reach the amputees in the remote borderlands, Therdchai set up mobile clinics where doctors, technicians, and volunteers brought prosthetic workshops directly to the people, providing each patient a custom-made limb in only six days; to date, over 15,000 grateful patients have benefited, including persons from neighboring Malaysia, Laos, and Myanmar. Therdchai’s satisfaction lies in seeing how well-made prosthetic limbs not only restore amputees to productive lives, but also restore their self-esteem.