The Rivers Academy of Stem Excellence (RASE) held a workshop for students recently, where they built 10 prosthetic hands for amputees in places such as India, Ethiopia and the Philippines.

Forty students in groups of three or four, using STEM engineering principles, an involved handbook, and some packets of parts, had the challenge laid before them. To complete the project, they were only to use their non-dominant hand - their dominant hand was covered and unusable.

Under the guidance of RASE Project Officer, Zane Van den Berg, the Years 7 to 12 students from three campuses used the Helping Hands program to assemble LN-4 prosthetics to be distributed and fitted by international agencies - at no cost to the recipient. The prosthetics are a type that can be strapped to an arm, and have a claw that clamps closed around an object and is spring-loaded to reopen with a click.

Helping Hands is an Australian-based social enterprise program that has facilitated the creation of almost 25,000 prosthetic hands since 2011. 

The kids had to work quite hard to achieve results. Oden, Jackson, Sage and Miles were struggling with the complexity.

“I’m trying to get the claw bit together, but it's kinda difficult,” said Miles. 

(Miles, Sage, Oden and Jackson)

Lucie, Emily and Zoey were taking the challenge in their stride. Emily said, “We are making prosthetic hands for people that have lost their hands in accidents.”

Zoey added, “It seemed interesting to learn about a prosthetic hand and why people need them.” Emily said, “It's fun, a little bit confusing but you get the hang of it.”

Lucie was pleased with the progress they were making.

“I expected it to be really hard, but it's not as difficult as I thought it would be, so that’s good! It is frustrating not using your dominant hand, though.”

(Lucie, Emily and Zoey get a tip from Zane Ven den Berg)

Lotte, Stella and Clem were progressing well but were adamant on their opinion of having their hand bound.

“I hate it. It's a lot trickier. Even opening a ziplock bag, you need two people. It gives you an idea of what it might be like. It's good for teamwork because you have to work together to do simple things.”

Clem had put some thought into what they were doing.

“I’d like to give other people the opportunity to use a hand.” Stella added, “It’s very important.”

Lotte was also happy about the personal touch that the kids were including.

“I’m excited to give a little note and decorate it for them. It will be specialised for them.”

(Lotte, Stell and Clem as Clem said, ""That makes sense, it's all coming together."

Karen Ramsay, one of the RASE teachers, was impressed by the student's diligence.

“The authenticity of their approach, the engagement - all of them are heads down working together. I am so happy for the kids. It’s not something they would normally get to do.”

Jay Sellers, one of the supervising teachers, said, “The STEM class is run as an elective class. They are lucky to get the opportunity to do this and look at their smiles. And the mixing of students from different schools, different ages, boys and girls working together - I’m grateful the opportunity was presented.”

(Students happy to work on their projects, even if, or probably because it was not easy)

Mr Van den Berg said “The program is an opportunity for students to not only help those in need but develop solutions to authentic problems with a focus on collaboration, teamwork and communication.”

Helping Hands Founder and Organisational Psychologist Dr Matt Henricks believes the program is highly beneficial for students as it encourages them to step outside their comfort zone and understand another person’s perspective.

“It is my hope the activity prompts a life-long curiosity and student love for STEM, and helps each student realise how powerful they each are to make a difference every day,” said Dr Hendricks.

“The activity will give each student a taste of how it feels to truly make a difference on a global stage, so I expect for some of the students, it will be the first of many steps they take toward shaping the kind of world that they wish to inherit.”

(Karen Ramsay with Charli and Izzy. Charli said, "Even though I don't read well, we managed to work it out and finished first!")

The Helping Hands Program is commonly used as a corporate team-building activity. However, the Northern Rivers students have been awarded the opportunity to participate in this STEM initiative thanks to funding by Google through an Australian Schools Plus grant.

(Students with the completed products, hands, packages and personalised notes for the recipient to read.)