Kyaro Assistive Tech (Tanzania)
Kyaro Assistive Tech is a Tanzanian NGO that designs, manufactures, and delivers assistive devices to individuals with disabilities in East Africa. Assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, braces and walkers, are difficult to find in East Africa, and those that are available are often expensive and poorly suited for the local environment. Kyaro Assistive Tech’s devices are unique because they are designed in collaboration with their users. Through an iterative process of interview and feedback, they make devices that are affordable, appropriate, and appealing.
The right assistive device can transform a person’s life, improving not only their physical health but also their social relationships, career, and self-confidence. Kyaro Assistive Tech envisions a world where everyone has access to a life of autonomy, dignity, and community, and are working towards it one assistive device at a time.
In 2023/24, the Eurofins Foundation is supporting efforts to scale-up access to appropriate wheelchairs in East Africa.
A conventional model for distributing wheelchairs in East Africa is to purchase hospital transfer wheelchairs in bulk from overseas and distribute them as a one-size-fits-all solution to people with disabilities.
This type of wheelchair is not designed for long-term use, and for some disabilities, may lead to severe and life-threatening complications, particularly without proper fitting, education, and follow-up.
Over the past two years, Kyaro Assistive Tech has delivered hundreds of wheelchairs to people across East Africa and developed an extensive set of options and attachments which allow them to deliver appropriate wheelchairs to people with almost any disability. They have also developed a system of assessment, fitting, and training, which is unique among wheelchair providers in this area.
Having proven the effectiveness of our processes and designs, they seek to scale up their manufacturing and fulfilment capacity to ensure that they are able to meet the enormous demand for appropriate wheelchairs in East Africa.
This project contributes to the following United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
