Challenger's Club Community Project
Three ramp projects were
undertaken by volunteer workers from the local AARP chapter
and the NMSU sanctioned Challenger Club whose membership is
composed of RASEM 2 students. The Ability Center of Las Cruces,
an independent living center for people with disabilities,
provided funding (approximately $1,200) through funds made
available through the New Mexico Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
The Ability Center also provided the names of clients requesting
the work.
Engineering students from
the Challengers Club surveyed the sites, designed the projects
according to ADA guidelines, estimated material needs, ordered
the materials, and supplied the tools and labor. The project
was ongoing beginning April 2000 and the final project completed
on October 21, 2000. The three ramp projects were located
in Las Cruces at the residences of
-
Ms. Irene Lopez (Elks Club Drive)
-
Mr. Jesus Saenz (Las Cruces Mobil Home
Park), and
-
Mr. and Mrs. Teodoro Gonzales (Lohman
and Espina)
The project brought together
members of the community, staff from the service provider
agencies, students with disabilities with carpentry skills,
and of course, the people requesting the work. Awareness of
the need that people with disabilities have for various accommodations
was made apparent and met by the work of the engineering students
participating in the project of which there were seven. Three
members of the RASEM 2 staff, two from AARP and four community
members not associated with AARP, Challengers, or the Ability
Center also Sparticipated.
The entire project was a lesson
in organization - volunteers and tools were determined, plans
were drafted based on site inspections and ADA guidelines,
funds were allocated based on those plans, materials and supplies
were ordered, and construction schedules were set in place.
Participants also practiced skills, albeit on a basic level,
but nonetheless developed to a proficient level when graduating
RASEM 2 students enter the workforce as professional engineers.
The project also set a precedent
in that community agencies normally not associated with working
with college students with disabilities joined with them to
complete the projects. As a result, the participants have
initiated plans for another ramp building project in the spring
semester of 2001. In addition, the project also makes the
Challengers Club eligible for funds from the Associated Students
of NMSU for projects the Challengers would like to conduct
on their own.
One other notable outcome
of the projects involves one of the beneficiaries who is married
and has two children. His request was for a set of stairs
with unusual riser height because he has difficulty lifting
his legs high enough to negotiate the normal seven or eight
inch height of stair risers. This presented construction difficulties
for the volunteers. But Mr. Saenz, who, previous to his disability,
was a Master carpenter, redesigned the stairs to accommodate
the special riser height. With the help of friends and relatives,
since Mr. Saenz cannot physically do the work himself, completed
the project. On the final project, Mr. Saenz was asked to
volunteer his expertise as a Master Carpenter and to supervise
the project. He agreed, and as a result, the project was successfully
completed. Not only did the success of the project spur Mr.
Saenz, who speaks only Spanish, to complete his studies in
English, but also roused in him the potential of enrolling
in school to major in engineering. Currently, RASEM 2 is helping
Mr. Saenz investigate the possibility. |