Members of The War Amps will be gathering in Winnipeg for the Western 2018 Child Amputee Seminar and also celebrate 100 years of service this weekend.
“Ninety-three champs from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba are coming together for the weekend where they can get to know other amputees like themselves. They share tips and tricks and learn more about their artificial limbs and amputation,” said James Jordan of The War Amps.
The Wars Amps is a not-for-profit started by amputee war veterans returning home from the First World War to provide peer support, self-help and practical assistance.
Those on hand at the seminar include War Amps Junior Counselor Jordan Banman.
“My job is to be a role model for younger CHAMPS and to be an extension of the resource team to share information on The War Amps. If we don’t know the answer, we can help direct them to the right person,” Banman said.
Banman said The War Amps’ support helped him access different limbs for different activities.
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“I have one that I use in the water for things like swimming and showering. There’s also a protective peg which for sports like sledge hockey.”
“It’s really powerful to see other kids and how active they are. It’s amazing,” Banman added.
The artificial limbs come from The Child Amputee Program, and the familiar War Amps Key Tag Service is also still going strong, said Banman, adding the program has returned more than 1.5 million keys to their owners.
“The tags are mailed every spring. It has a number on it and if someone finds them, they can drop the keys in any mailbox in Canada. We’ll figure out the owner of the keys and get them back,” Jordan said.
People can get more information about the seminar and more about The War Amps on their website.
WATCH: The War Amps CHAMPS gather in Winnipeg for weekend seminar.
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