Alternatif Bank continues its Accessible Banking studies, maintained for more than 4 years on a right-based approach, with a new project. Following the earthquake disaster that occurred last February, the Bank started to collaborate with Robot Hand Association with the aim of supporting children that suffer from congenital or subsequent limb loss or deformation. 

Alternatif Bank will assume production of Robot Hands for more than 50 children in need within the scope of its cooperation with Robot Hand Association, which manufactures robot hands with custom and mobile robot hands with 3D printers. It is also aimed to increase competence of Robot Hand employees and volunteers, who contact children and families that experience hand and finger losses, through language and perspective trainings to be provided by Alternatif Bank Accessible Banking Advisory Board within the scope of the cooperation that is planned to last 1 year. It is targeted to share information at many points from right-based approach to communication with individuals in different disability groups and matters that should be taken into consideration during such communication.

Alternatif Bank Brand, Communication, and Sustainability Manager Levent Ulusoy, making remarks about the matter, stated “We consider easy access by everyone to all services that we offer as Alternatif Bank under the principle of equality to be within our corporate priorities. With this approach, we launched ‘Accessible Banking ’ studies 4 years ago. We believe in the importance of designing and offering banking services so that they are accessible by everyone and we maintain our operations with an approach ‘based on not aids, but rights’. This approach became “eliminating obstacles” and a fundamental principle of our Bank over time. In this context, we make considerable efforts to eliminate obstacles primarily in the banking sector and then in the society, and we pioneer a shift of mentality with our existing and new studies in this area.  Following the major earthquake disaster that we experienced this year, we crossed paths with Robot Hand Association as we were focusing on longer-lasting and more permanent activities in addition to our financial supports at the outset. Robot Hand Association develops rational and efficient solutions specific to children that lost limbs. In principle, this innovative and responsible approach of the association is actually very well suited to our studies as Alternatif Bank in the field of accessible banking. With our cooperation with Robot Hand Association, we are aiming to contribute to rehabilitation processes of children and increase their quality of life. Under the cooperation, we are planning to reach more than 50 children, to be identified with the contribution of the specialist team of Robot Hand Association, in the first phase. However, our purpose is to address the scope of the study on a broader perspective in the light of future experiences… The concept that we call ‘Accessible Banking’ is a quite valuable area, in which we believe to the point of commitment, for Alternatif Bank and we will continue keep our end up for an accessible world.”

Robot Hand Association Chairman Serdar Okumuş, noting that they expedited their operations after the earthquake and they prioritized fulfillment of the needs of children affected by the earthquake, stated “Aiming to collaborate with public authorities, local administrations, and non-governmental organizations in addition to health institutions, our goal is to offer solutions to more than one thousand people in need at a high level of accessibility with our rapidly increasing capacity in the recent period. We are aiming to obtain necessary sources by means of corporate and individual solidarity with our activities in cooperations with private sector organizations, and team-equipment and project-implementation areas. Access of children to prostheses is a problematic process not only in our country, but also throughout the world, due to high costs, use and adaptation difficulties, and the requirement for replacement that arises upon physical development of children. Robot hands are not prostheses; they are mobile apparatus performing the basic grip function. Robot Hands, which facilitate particularly the lives of children at development age by performing basic grip movement, also provide self-confidence support and socialization opportunity with fun designs such as the colors of sports teams supported or super heroes loved by children. Loss of limb and/or congenital loss of limb may have negative impact on not only posture and right-left brain functions, but also social and psychological development of individuals. We deliver Robot Hands, which we manufacture cost-efficiently in 3D printers using the resources of our association, and which can be renewed as necessary in parallel with child development, free of charge to individuals in need. Until the present day, we have manufactured more than 1000 Robot Hands in line with the needs of more than 400 children, which arise in parallel with their growth, and also have a helping hand to individuals that lost limbs due to trauma. We will touch upon the lives of more than 50 children in need under our cooperation with Alternatif Bank. We thank Alternatif Bank family for their support.”