MANILA, Philippines – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Monday, November 13, a 9-year-old amputee from Bulacan who told the leader he wants to be a policeman someday.

Modi visited the Mahavir Philippines Foundation in Makati City, an organization that helps give the Jaipur Foot to amputees. The Jaipur Foot is a rubber-based prosthetic leg designed and developed by Indian sculptor Ram Chander Sharma.

It is an affordable alternative to the expensive carbon fiber prosthetics.

Modi tweeted about meeting 9-year-old Carlo Miguel Silvano from Bulacan, one of the foundation’s Jaipur Foot beneficiaries.

“‘I want to be a policeman,’ my young friend told me…Glad to see the Jaipur Foot giving wings to the aspirations of many youngsters like him,” Modi said.

Mahavir has helped 757 amputees in 2017, according to Modi’s office.

The Indian prime minister also met other amputee-beneficiaries of the foundation.

“Their efforts of fitting the Jaipur Foot on needy amputees have touched several lives. During my visit, [I] saw a series of exhibits and interacted with amputees,” Modi said.

Modi is in the Philippines for the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits, where India is a dialogue partner.

Elected in 2014, Modi is a political survivor of India. 

In 2002, he was condemned for alleged inaction on religious riots in Gujarat, where he served as chief minister. More than 1,000 people died, most of them Muslims. He faced a lawsuit before the Indian Supreme Court but was eventually cleared.

During that time, he was shunned by the United States and the United Kingdom. But relations are warmer now that he is the head of state. – Rappler.com