“For you, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge selfish desires; rather, serve one another humbly in love."
Galatians 5:13
Updates:
Our 2026 trip brought the most patients we've ever seen in one trip, along with some of the biggest challenges we've encountered. Between lost luggage and 3 of our team members being delayed in South Africa for an additional day, electricity outages throughout the trip, missing supplies from our shipping container load, and more patients arriving than we could help, our team found daily moments of connection and inspiration from the many patients we met and ability to work together as a team to help others. The team was able to see 131 patients this trip. 33 people received new prosthetic eyes, and 26 people received new prosthetic or orthotic devices.
We thank each member of the team who dedicated two weeks of their time to serving those in need in Zambia: John, Steve, and Rudy from Texas, Tori from Philadelphia, Katie from Maryland, Caro and Ursula from Germany, and Hannah from New Zealand.
Partnership
During PPIHN's April trip to Zambia, Katie visited the Holy Family Rehabilitation Center facility in Monze. PPIHN has worked with this organization since last year to establish a partnership to enable us to help more people by providing the necessary components for patients to receive a prosthesis without needing to pay. Affordability is a major hurdle for the vast number of people in rural Zambia who need a prosthesis.
In 2025, PPIHN served a total of 92 patients—85 through direct care during our annual trip and 7 through referrals to the Holy Family Rehabilitation Center. Based on our April 2026 trip and continued referral activity to Holy Family Center, we project serving 160 patients by end of year 2026: 131 through direct care and 29 through referrals. This represents a 73% increase in total patients served.
A familiar face
The team was so excited to see Best back for a new prosthesis this year. Best was originally seen in 2018, pictured above (right) in the 2019 trip and in April 2026 (left). Best is now 10 years old and doing great! PPIHN has a heart for kids and makes sure every child is provided the best possible care.
Ocular care
Our April 2026 trip to Zambia brought the most patients, by far, that we have ever seen. This was especially a challenge for John, as he had 38 ocular prosthetic patients. 33 of these people received a new prosthetic eye during the trip. Prior to this year, the most prosthetic eyes John has made in a single trip was 18. So, this was a huge increase!
John had the pleasure of meeting Adrian this year for an ocular prosthesis. Adrian is a 6-year-old boy who lost his eye due to retinoblastoma. Retinoblastoma is a childhood cancer. John sees patient with this diagnosis in the states but has never seen in Zambia as lack of treatment means most patients never make it to the stage of needing an ocular prosthesis. John says it was meaningful to provide care to a child who was able to receive treatment.
Adrian was a joy to work with. He was very shy to start but was giving John hugs at his fitting appointment.
Ongoing Donation Needs:
· Shoes (sizes 8-11 men’s and women's)
· Wheelchairs
· Walkers
· Crutches
· Regular Crew Socks
