In order to promote this continuing education program beyond disciplines, Max Näder founded the independent Otto Bock Foundation in 1987. Some of our conferences on gait analysis and CAD/CAM systems have received international recognition.
Expanding the foundation's mandate to include "activities in the charitable sector" allowed it to provide rapid assistance in the summer of 2002, when the flood of the century led to great destruction and suffering in eastern Germany. Professor Hans Georg Näder and his wife Antje mobilised the entire company network in order to offer help quickly. They asked business partners, customers and Otto Bock branches around the world for help in the fundraising campaign "Giving Hope - Living Hope". Local Otto Bock employees organised a benefit with great dedication and commitment, which was subsequently supported by the entire city. An amount of approximately EUR 500,000 was quickly collected to benefit the flood victims.
Since the social responsibility of a global company does not end at the national borders, Otto Bock is also involved in international aid projects. "Children in Need - Help for Haiti" is the latest.
A severe earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010 completely destroyed the country's infrastructure; hospitals and other medical facilities are closed. Severe injuries to arms and legs have forced the need for amputations that to date can still not be numbered accurately. The fact is that many children are affected.
In order to achieve a sustainable effect, individual cases require more than just emergency aid. Due to their growth, children need technical orthopaedic care at least every 6 months, so that their prostheses can be adapted and replaced where necessary.
However, since the earthquake, Haiti's sole orthopaedic workshop is no longer usable. A single workshop would not be adequate anyway. The Otto Bock Foundation is focusing on training for prosthetists in the country.
National / International Relief Actions since 2002
- Giving Hope - Living Hope, catastrophic floods in Germany, 2002
- Help for Khao Lak after the tsunami, Thailand, 2004
- Children of Beslan, hostage-taking at Beslan school, Russia, 2004
- Give Children a Future, victims of natural disasters in Asia, 2008 | Give Children a Future more
- Children in Need - Help for Haiti, earthquake victims 2010 | www.relief-for-haiti.com
Website of the Otto Bock Foundation: more
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