Cross-Border Initiative Transforms Mobility for Disabled Communities

In 2008, industrial engineer Francisco “Kiko” Trujillo was approached by Tucson pediatrician Dr. Burris “Duke” Duncan, who sought a partner in Nogales, Sonora, to supply all-terrain wheelchairs to people with disabilities. Trujillo, whose own brother was born with a missing left hand, saw the collaboration as both professional and personal. Together they founded the nonprofit Arizona Sonora Border Projects for Inclusion (ARSOBO). The organization later expanded to fabricate custom wheelchairs, prosthetics, hearing devices, and to offer rehabilitation services on both sides of the border. Partnerships with manufacturers, universities, and the University of Arizona’s Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Department have helped broaden its reach.

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ARSOBO reports having served nearly 3,500 individuals. It has constructed more than 820 all-terrain wheelchairs, fabricated 900 orthotics and prosthetics, and distributed over 740 hearing aids.

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Trujillo emphasizes that Mexico’s public health programs do not provide prosthetic or orthotic devices, prompting ARSOBO to fill that gap. Duncan, now 93, acknowledges that Trujillo’s commitment has far exceeded the original seven-year timeframe, describing the work as a source of personal enjoyment and community empowerment.

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• “What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about medical equipment,” — Trujillo

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• “Everybody knows Kiko, and Kiko knows everybody. He and I just kind of jived together,” — Dr. Duke Duncan, co-founder

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• “We hire folks with the same disability as the device they’re going to be building; the person who makes prosthesis, he wears a prosthesis,” — Trujillo

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• “We are changing the lives of not just the patient, but the entire family,” — Trujillo

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These statements illustrate the founders’ motivations, the inclusive hiring model, and the broader impact on families and communities.

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