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Were they living in the developed world, a considerable percentage of the many disabled persons in DR Congo would be fitted with "leg braces" that would assist them to walk and thus provide them greater dignity and independence.
In DR Congo, most disabled persons do not have access to this equipment, either because there are no brace-making facilities near where they live, or because their financial resources are so limited that they cannot afford the fees typically charged. Most disabled persons thus end up just hobbling or crawling around as best they can.
While it is, of course, unfortunate that anyone would be left unnecessarily with greatly reduced personal mobility due to a physical disability, it is doubly a shame, and a waste, when the disabled person is still relatively young with most of his or her life yet to live. The StandProud-ACDF collaborative project attempts to address this problem by setting up brace-crafting shops and providing free equipment for as many disabled Congolese youth as possible. In many cases, providing some relatively inexpensive treatment and equipment is all that is needed to improve a child/youth's mobility dramatically and significantly change his or her life forever.
Whereas with some third-world problems it is difficult to perceive the overall impact of programs that assist people on an individual basis, this is thus clearly not true in this case; Impact is usually clear and monumental for the individuals involved.
Furthermore, since even where disability rates are relatively high, as in DR Congo, disabled persons still typically represent only a small percent of the general population, helping individual cases quickly has a perceptible impact on the overall problem.