RoughRider Wheelchair Project, a partnership of ABSF (ID, USA), Whirlwind Wheelchairs International (CA, USA), HandiNor Wheelchairs (Norway), and Kien Tuong Wheelchair Factory (Vietnam).
Project location: greater Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
$217,000 2002-2008

2005 RoughRider Whelchair Project Site Visit

ABSF funding supports the effort to mass-produce the Whirlwind RoughRider wheelchair in Vietnam under an American-Norwegian-Vietnamese partnership entitled the RoughRider Wheelchair Project. The results of the pilot project completed in 2006-2007 are:

• Kien Tuong reached full manufacturing capacity of 300 units a month at the unbelievably low cost of $150/unit.
• Kien Tuong established and supervised a local distribution system in Vietnam that saw the first 100 pilot wheelchairs given away in 2006 and another 200 during 2007, with proper fitting and training of recipients.

LATEST NEWS: Building partnerships yields the RoughRider Wheelchair Project
We are proud to introduce the RoughRider Wheelchair Project, an idea that the Arthur B. Schultz Foundation has been developing for years to bring to reality. To address the overwhelming need for wheelchairs in Vietnam, ABSF has partnered with American and Norwegian wheelchair design and manufacturing companies to enable a Vietnamese wheelchair manufacturer to build and distribute rugged, easily repairable, and ultra affordable wheelchairs to disabled Vietnamese.

Since inception of our online sponsorship program, over 300 needy Vietnamese have received wheelchairs from your generous donations.  For 2010 our goal is to double this number.

To see the RoughRider in action, view these videos:  Frontline RRWP Vietnam News Story (10 mins); Whirlwind RRWP YouTube (2 mins)

Give the gift of mobility by sponsoring a RoughRider Wheelchair in Vietnam for just $150. DONATE NOW >>