How We Started
In 2008, Sonoran UCEED (the University of Arizona’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities) and Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (DIF) Nogales sponsored a Border Conference on Disabilities that was held in Nogales, Mexico. The plan was not just to have a conference but to leave something behind after the conference concluded. What resulted was a construction shop in Nogales, MX that would build all-terrain wheelchairs; the RoughRider was designed by Ralf Hotchkiss for the rough terrain that is so prevalent in developing countries.
Over the next several years, multiple partnerships including universities, governmental agencies, private companies, and individuals from both sides of the border joined to form ARSOBO (ARizona SOnora BOrder Projects for Inclusion). ARSOBO is now a non-governmental organization (NGO) with 501(c)(3) status established on the U.S. side with a ‘sister’ NGO in Mexico.
ARSOBO developed sequentially in three phases:
Create a shop that constructs durable wheelchairs designed for rough terrain
2. Develop the capacity and expertise to build prosthesis and orthotics
3. Implement a Hearing Health clinic to evaluate adults and children for hearing impairments and distribute appropriate low-cost hearing aids to those who need them
