Arizona-Sonora Border (ARSOBO) - Low cost durable medical equipment
Project Description:
As a result of the Sonoran UCEDD's first Border Conference on Disability in 2008 held in Nogales, Sonora, plans to develop a social business to create low cost all-terrain wheelchairs took shape. In partnership with Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF) Sonora (Mexico's premier government disability service agency), other university and Arizona community partners, as well as individuals and social services and disability groups in Mexico, this social business plan evolved into ASORBO (Arizona Sonora Border), a non-governmental organization (NGO) whose mission is to: Assist in alleviating the physical, psychological, and economical barriers faced by individuals with disabilities by providing high-tech, low-cost medical devices that minimize their disability.
ASORBO trains and employs individuals with disabilities to construct medical equipment they need and use. The workshop and clinics include:
1. a shop that constructs durable wheelchairs designed for rough terrain
2. assembling high-tech low-cost hearing aids with a solar-powered hearing aid battery recharger
3. fabrication of prosthesis and orthotics
ARSOBO also partners with AZ Tribal Nations to provide all-terrain wheelchairs to tribal members.
Received grant from Community Foundation of Southern AZ to supply the Pascua Yaqui Tribe with 90 all-terrain RoughRider wheelchairs, 75 for adults, and 15 customized chairs for children with neuromuscular disabilities (May 2022 - April 2023).
Received grant from Tohono O'odham Gaming Commission to provide 75 all-terrain RoughRider wheelchairs to people with disabilities living in rural and tribal communities in AZ (2024 - present)
Keyword(s):
Health Equity, Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Special Health Care Needs, international, low cost durable medical equipment, tribal nations
Core Function(s):
Training Trainees, Performing Direct and/or Demonstration Services, Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information, Other Direct/Model Services
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Health-Related Activities, Employment-Related Activities, Transportation-Related Activities, Quality of Life, Other - Assistive Technology, Other - Cultural Diversity
Target Audience:
Students/Trainees (long or intermediate trainees), Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Children/Adolescents with Disabilities/SHCN, Legislators/Policy Makers, General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Racial or Ethnic Minorities, Disadvantaged Circumstances, Limited English, Geographic Areas, Rural/Remote
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
Mulit-County, International
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
