Mod Squad

I have formed an online community of volunteers who are enthusiastic
about hacking/modding that can take donated new and used toys and
modify them to become a prosthetic arm for a child amputee in a
developing nation who would otherwise have nothing. I have named the
group Mod Squad.

I don’t expect these to be the most advanced high functioning arms
but they are better than nothing. My goal is to help a child go from
being the kid without an arm to the kid with this awesome arm made from
toys. Plus it is a way to use existing materials that would otherwise
end up in a landfill.

I started a group on instructables.com, to view it go to www.instructables.com/group/modsquad/

I hope this will attract the right people and serve as a space for
collaboration. On here you will see an arm that one of my classmates
made out of the toy Toobers and Zots. I think it is a great start and
was less than $19.99 to make.

On average in the US, a body-powered, above-elbow prosthesis can
cost $15,000. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
manufactures lower cost prosthesis but they still cost about $1,000.*

We can work together to re-use existing materials and give these children a new arm.

So please contact me if you have any tips, suggestions, toy donations or want to join the Mod Squad!

*oandp.org