Yellow beret on his head, José, 41, then moves around the room, discovering his prosthesis.

He lost his right leg in a traffic accident in 2015 and received a prosthesis in 2016. He has since trained to become one of the company's artisans.

There are no statistics on the number of amputees or the need for prostheses in Venezuela.

According to statistics from a fact-finding mission in 2008, there were then some 130,000 people with a physical and motor disability (including amputees).

José Bastidas works on making a prosthesis in the workshop of the Zona Bionica company, in Caracas, on February 11, 2022 Cristian Hernandez AFP / Archives

According to empirical observations of Zona Bionica, the majority of cases are amputations resulting from medical problems (diabetes in particular), followed by road accidents.

In addition to the physical and psychological shock, we must face the financial problem.

With a few rare exceptions, amputees must mainly finance the purchase of their prostheses and many find it difficult to raise the 1,800 dollars necessary for the cheapest model (which must be changed every two years on average).

"I like it a lot. Helping someone walk, seeing them get up, it's priceless," he explains, stressing that amputees like him better understand people who have just lost a limb.

Juan Bolivar (L), Joselito Rodriguez (C) and Hector Leal (R) adjust the mechanical joints on a prosthesis of their manufacture, February 11, 2022 in Caracas Cristian Hernandez AFP / Archives

"They are depressed. We support them morally. We explain to them that we lost a part of the body but not our life. I have two children, I was not going to stay at home," he adds.

"Fights me"

"At first it's very hard," says Heidy Garcia, 30, an administrative employee at the company.

Dressed in white shorts, she sports a custom socket in turquoise blue.

Mother of an 8-year-old daughter, she lost her right leg due to circulation problems four years ago.

"You have to move forward. Afterwards, there is a phase of acceptance. The spirit is very strong," she says, adding that new patients find both confidence and comfort with people who suffered the same trauma.

Cristhian Sequera Quintana, 34, stands up thanks to his two prostheses, February 11, 2022 in Caracas Cristian Hernandez AFP / Archives

On the physical level "we know what the phantom leg is, the cramps, getting used to the prosthesis etc...", she adds.

A former employee of a private company, she started working at Zona Bionica after her amputation.

"I no longer had a job and this was my second home."

She found out about the company through a competition it organizes to offer people without resources one or two prostheses a month, most of the time for children.

Heidy entered the contest, without winning.

But she has benefited from a crowdfunding initiative that allows amputees to finance the purchase of their prosthesis.

This is also the case of Cristhian Sequera Quintana, 34, who suffered a motorcycle accident in 2015. After four years of suffering, he decided to have both legs amputated in 2019 and 2021.

José Bastidas shapes a prosthesis in the workshop of the Zona Bionica company in Caracas, February 11, 2022 Cristian Hernandez AFP / Archives

"At the beginning, I didn't really want to live. I needed help with the toilet, for my needs. But now I feel better, with the prostheses, that's changing," he says.

"I want to work and live, to fight for myself, my son, my family".

© 2022 AFP