Two Teens Created 3D-Printed Limbs for Amputees — Including a Girl Who Lost Arm in Bus Accident

Best friends Yariselle Andujar and Daniela Moreno began their journey when they decided to sign up for their school’s robotics team their freshman year

Best friends Yariselle Andujar, 17, and Daniela Moreno, 15, decided to sign up for their school’s robotics team their freshman year, and without realizing it, began their journey towards changing lives for the better.

The now-juniors at Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School in Cleveland, Ohio began working with 3D printers to create parts for their robots, but knew they wanted their impact to be greater.

“It started off with a team idea,” Andujar tells PEOPLE for the Girls Changing the World package in this week's issue. “We were trying to figure out how we could impact our community as a first year robotics team. What do we have to provide to our community? We later thought of the idea to use 3D printers to make prosthetic parts, like hands. We figured out that it’s lightweight, but very strong, so we used 3D printers to make the prosthetics.”

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The team worked with IMAHelps, a humanitarian nonprofit organization, and received assistance from The Great Lakes Science Robotics Initiative, and shortly after, began working with their first youth in need of a prosthetic.

“We started off with making a prototype for Samantha, a 12-year-old little girl in Ecuador who lost her arm in a bus accident,” Andujar explains. “We got her measurements and made prototypes, then originals. IMAHelps brought the prosthetic back to Ecuador and it fit her perfectly and worked well.”

“Samantha had a dream to write, and we wanted to help with that," adds Moreno.

The team displayed the prototype at a high school fair, and a young amputee named Ernest Priester, 13, asked to try it on. Later, the team offered to make him a prosthetic for free. “He started tearing up, it brought so much joy to his eyes. His mom was tearing up too,” Andujar says.

It didn’t take long for other Ecuadorian kids missing limbs to see the Samantha’s prosthetic and want one of their own. This July, the team traveled to Ecuador to deliver four more prosthetics to those in need. “We were so happy to help,” Andujar shares.

Related: Man Who Lost Legs to Boat Propeller Dedicates Life to Helping Kids Get Expensive Prosthetics

With not much time left, both Andujar and Moreno are looking towards their futures. “We hope to be roommates at Kent State,” says Andujar, “and become pilots,” adds Moreno.

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The duo also plans on continuing to distribute their 3D creations. “You can do whatever you want to do when it comes to helping people and changing the world,” Andujar says. “There are no limits or age restrictions.”

“By offering a little bit,” adds Moreno, “we can change a lot.”

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