About Us
The Cause
There are approximately 35 million amputees worldwide resulting from either disease, road accidents, landmines, or being involved in war.
In Syria, 50,000 civilians were caught in the crossfire during the recent civil war and required an amputation.
In Sudan, there is one Prosthetic Rehabilitation Centre that caters for approximately 60,000 patients annually .
This is a growing concern across the developing world, and there is very little being done about it because it’s very much an unknown issue. There’s no press releases and very few NGO’s/Charities working on this cause.
The Founding Story
Hi there! I'm Tom. I started UPmovement in 2019 after graduating with a Masters' in Prosthetics and Orthotics in Melbourne, Australia.
The idea for this came to me when I was on a Prosthetic rehabilitation placement in Cambodia in 2017. The small rehabilitation center I worked at in Phnom Penh took care of hundreds of patients. There were not enough trained professionals at the facility to care for these people, and the clinicians were not paid nearly enough to support their families. Some days, we had to turn patients away because we could not look after them.
Upon returning home, I learned that the situation for amputees was even more dire across the globe. I've made it my life's purpose to restore the freedom of human mobility to as many amputees over the world.
Be a part of this journey with me, let's make the world a better place together.
The 100% Model
Upmovement utilises the 100% model.
We do this through our giving partners, A Leg To Stand On (ALTSO), an NYC-based charity that builds their own prosthetic legs for 400AUD. (For reference, a Prosthetic limb in Australia starts at around $50,000AUD. The ‘Blade Runner’ leg costs $300,000AUD).
Our current project at the moment in collaboration with ALTSO is focused in Cambodia.
UPmovement is in the process of becoming a registered charity, so that we can fundraise on our own and receive tax-deductible donations.
Everybody deserves the freedom of human mobility, and we together we have the ability to improve the quality of life for millions across the globe, one pair of socks at a time.