Alex Chalifour MSPO ’26 and Kyle Moser MSPO ’26 recently took their skills to the island nation of Sri Lanka, where they helped fabricate and fit prosthetics for 30 patients at the Centre for the Handicapped in Kandy.
The two say that while they gained valuable career experience, treating patients half a world away was its own reward.
"This trip to Sri Lanka was nothing short of life changing,” said Chalifour. “I was able to work with four patients of my own, where I formed meaningful connections and challenged myself clinically. This trip was the pinnacle of what it means to do good, not just as a clinician, but as a human being.”
“Seeing the gratitude on the faces of the children and their families reminded me why it’s so important to give 100% to every patient,” said Moser. “This experience in Sri Lanka reinforced my passion for patient care and inspired me to pursue more international efforts to expand access to prosthetics worldwide.”
This was the latest partnership between UHart’s prosthetics and orthotics program and the Limb Kind Foundation, which provides prostheses free of charge to children with limb loss around the world. Last year MSPO students served in clinics in Kenya and Peru, and more trips are planned.
Duffy Felmlee, the interim co-department chair of the prosthetics and orthotics program, says that this year, ten of the prosthetic sockets were 3D printed, as part of a series of pilot tests for how that technology can be applied in international settings.
"Alex and Kyle represented themselves and the program well on our second trip to Sri Lanka,” Felmlee said. “Adapting to a new environment and working with the pediatric populations highlighted their skills and development in their final year at the University of Hartford.”
Kyle Moser MSPO ’26, College of Education, Nursing and Health ProfessionsSeeing the gratitude on the faces of the children and their families reminded me why it’s so important to give 100% to every patient. This experience in Sri Lanka reinforced my passion for patient care and inspired me to pursue more international efforts to expand access to prosthetics worldwide.