Eight-year-old Sidra Al Bordeeni pedaled a bicycle through her Jordanian refugee camp for the first time in a year, thanks to a new prosthetic arm.
The device, delivered by Pakistani startup Bioniks, marks a breakthrough in providing life-changing aid to children affected by war, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Sidra lost her arm during an Israeli missile strike on Gaza while sheltering at Nuseirat School. With Gaza’s healthcare system in collapse and the borders sealed, her family was unable to access treatment. But today, Sidra is smiling again, showing off her new arm to friends and siblings. “I can’t express how grateful I am to see my daughter happy,” said her mother, Sabreen Al Bordeeni.
The prosthetic was made over 4,000 kilometers away in Karachi by Bioniks, a social enterprise that designs custom limbs using AI-powered modeling and smartphone-based 3D scanning. CEO Anas Niaz personally delivered the device after weeks of virtual fittings.
Sidra is one of two Palestinian children who received Bioniks’ first-ever prosthetics designed for war victims. The other, three-year-old Habebat Allah, lost both arms and a leg in the ongoing conflict. Her devices were funded by donations from Pakistan, while Sidra’s arm was supported by Mafaz Clinic in Amman.
With a price tag of roughly $2,500, Bioniks’ prosthetics cost a fraction of the $10,000–$20,000 required for U.S.-made alternatives. While less complex, they offer excellent functionality for growing children and are designed for easy adjustment and reuse.
“Our goal is to make advanced, affordable limbs accessible to conflict victims worldwide—from Gaza to Ukraine,” said Niaz.
Gaza is now facing one of the worst child-amputation crises in modern history. According to the UN, there are an estimated 4,500 new amputees, many of them children, on top of the 2,000 already living with limb loss before the war. The Palestinian Bureau of Statistics reports at least 7,000 children wounded since the war began in October 2023.
With Gaza’s health system decimated, remote solutions like Bioniks’ are helping fill a critical gap. “Where travel is impossible, remote treatment makes assessments, fittings, and follow-up care a reality,” said Asadullah Khan, a prosthetics specialist in the UK.
Sidra’s new hand, decorated with a bracelet, lets her do what she couldn't for a year—form a heart with both arms. She recently sent a photo of that heart to her father, still trapped in Gaza.
“What I’m looking forward to most,” she said, “is using both my arms to finally hug my father when I see him.”
