Helping Ukraine by training skilled workers

In August 2025, a training project was launched in Ukraine to train skilled workers in pedorthics. The aim is to enable them to develop and manufacture customized solutions for foot problems. Franz Fischer and Bernd Franke will lead the courses for the Praeparatio association, both online and on site.

Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing since 2022, has already claimed many lives on both sides. Many soldiers have suffered serious injuries on the front lines and require medical care and often rehabilitation.
For this reason, a rehabilitation center was established in Lviv in 2022, which was inaugurated in spring 2023. The rehabilitation center also includes a P&O and a pedorthic workshop. The Prosthetic and Orthotic Center was built in 2023 with German funding. Bernd Franke was already involved in setting up the workshop as part of his work as an international master craftsman.
Due to a shortage of skilled workers in pedorthics in Ukraine, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) launched a training project to train local specialists. The training is intended to enable them to develop and manufacture orthopedic devices for the foot.
The contract for the training project was awarded to the Praeparatio e.V. association. For the training, the online tutorials originally developed by Praeparatio for a German-speaking audience were translated into Ukrainian. With the web-based training, course participants can work through all the tutorials in sequence in a self-study format. This is followed by direct online training with lecturers and then practical training on site. For the first practical lesson, the two orthopedic shoemakers Franz Fischer and Bernd Franke traveled to Lviv at the end of August to instruct the four participants of the first pilot course in practical care directly at the “Unbroken” rehabilitation center. The course content was tailored to current needs. Due to the war, there are many stump fittings or partial amputations to be treated, some of which are associated with wound healing disorders.
As this is a pilot project, the continuation of the course is not yet guaranteed. However, Franz Fischer and Bernd Franke hope that further courses can be held so that the craft of pedorthics can be established in Ukraine in the long term with training standards.