Gaza's injured children get lifeline from Pakistan startup

As soon as eight-year-old Sidra Al Bordeeni returned from the clinic with her prosthetic arm, she jumped on a bicycle in the Jordanian refugee camp where she lives, riding for the first time since a missile strike in Gaza took her arm a year ago.

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Sidra was injured while sheltering at Nuseirat School, one of several Gaza schools converted into makeshift refuges from Israeli strikes. Her mother, Sabreen Al Bordeeni, said Gaza’s collapsed health services and the family’s inability to leave at the time made it impossible to save her hand.

'She's out playing, and all her friends and siblings are fascinated by her arm,' Al Bordeeni said on the phone, repeatedly thanking God for this day. 'I can't express how grateful I am to see my daughter happy.'

The arm was built over 4,000 kilometres away in Karachi by Bioniks, a Pakistani company that uses a smartphone app to take pictures from different angles and create a 3D model for custom prosthetics.

CEO Anas Niaz said the social enterprise startup had fit more than 1,000 custom-designed arms inside Pakistan since 2021-funded through a mix of patient payments, corporate sponsorship, and donations — but this was its first time providing prosthetics to those impacted in conflict.