"...one in five adult males is missing at least one leg."

From David Akin, reporting on the goings-on of the Canadian Parliament, we get this gem out of Gordon O'Connor's Parliamentary Secretary:

Mr. Russ Hiebert (South Surrey—White Rock—Cloverdale, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow 500 wheelchairs will arrive in Kandahar, Afghanistan. A wheelchair can transform the life of an amputee, providing mobility, opportunity and hope.

After decades of conflict and war, several hundred thousand Afghanis are amputees. In response, Wheelchair Foundation Canada, led by a constituent of mine, Christiana Flessner, has worked alongside our Canadian military to provide wheelchairs to Afghanis in need.

Each wheelchair proudly displays the flags of Canada and Afghanistan side by side symbolizing our friendship and national determination to help them through this difficult time. The wheelchairs will be distributed by our soldiers in Kandahar, giving our troops yet another opportunity to build new and important friendships with Afghanis.

I would like to honour Ms. Flessner for her dedication to this worthy project and encourage all Canadians to visit the Wheelchair Foundation website at wheelchairfoundation.ca to learn more about this exceptional organization.

Hundreds of thousands of amputees. That absolutely boggles the mind. And while it's only hundreds of chairs for thousands of amputees, it's five hundred more than they had yesterday.

Well, he suggested we visit the Wheelchair Foundation, so let's do just that:

"These wheelchairs send a message that Canadians, including Canada's Armed Forces, care about the people of Afghanistan," said Hiebert. "The wheelchairs our soldiers will distribute are going to dramatically improve the lives of disabled Afghanis, giving hope and opportunity to each of them and their families," he said. Due to decades of warfare, and millions of landmines and un-exploded ordinances, Afghanistan is a nation where an estimated one in five adult males is missing at least one leg.

"Our Canadian Forces are in Afghanistan to help rebuild that shattered country. With this special project our soldiers will be helping to rebuild the lives of many individual Afghanis who have lost limbs to landmines," Hiebert said. The aid project, Operation Mobility, is a joint effort between the Wheelchair Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Forces and CIDA. The project was made possible by an anonymous donor from British Columbia, himself a former soldier and veteran of the Second World War. [Babbler's bold]

To the anonymous veteran who provided the donation that made Operation Mobility happen: well done, sir!