Eighteen months from when a group of passionate individuals approached Legs4Africa, explaining that they’d like to set up something similar to Legs4Africa in France. Here we are today, with hundreds more legs and two sailing boats that have set sail en route from Normandy to where our story began. 

The group of mates, better known as ‘Nav Solidaire’ became enormously excited about the potential to make an impact by acting as a collection hub for leg donations across Europe as well as developing a network of French clinics to make sure unwanted legs are no longer being sent to landfills across the continent. 

However, what makes Nav Solidaire truly unique is their passion for delivering prosthetic leg components to where they are needed with an as little carbon footprint as possible. For them, this means making a 6-week voyage sailing along the coast of Europe and West Africa, all the way to the Gambia. 

We are passionate about sailing, taking care of the planet, and leading by example to reduce our carbon footprint. We chose to use sailing navigation to deliver prostheses to realise our mission which we hope will create a lasting impact.

Antoine – Nav Solidaire

The voyage has been months in planning as they secure the boats, crew and supplies – and on the 2nd of November 2021, the weather cleared up, allowing them to hoist up the sails and head South. 

Between the boats there are enough components to build 200 prosthetics, however many of these will be used for spare and repair.

If you’ve got any unwanted prosthetics that you would like to donate, either in France, Europe or the UK, head over to our Donate a Leg page to find out more.