The US embassy said Mark S Ward, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Asia and Near East Bureau, USAIDs highest-ranking official covering South Asia, visited the Jaffna Jaipur Center for Disability Rehabilitation (JJCDR) in Jaffna Town. rn
rnThe JJCDR, originally known as the Jaipur Foot Program, was founded by local women in 1987 to meet a growing need for services for war wounded and mine victims in Jaffna. rn
rnJJCDRs multi-faceted program includes an artificial limb-fitting program, orthotics and metal workshops; a physiotherapy unit; counseling services and a hostel for beneficiaries being fitted for a limb. rn
rnClose to a thousand people benefit from the services provided by JJDCR each year. rn
rnUSAID provides US$ 500,000 annually to its Island-wide disability support program, of which JJCDR is a beneficiary. rn
rnAt Karainagar Island, off the west coast of the Jaffna Peninsula, Ward handed over two catamarans to fishing societies as part of a USAID Office of Transition Initiatives