engineers without borders
Engineers Without Borders is a student group at UC that works on projects in other countries such as water distribution networks and the construction of schoolhouses. The EWB-UC chapter falls under the larger organization of EWB-USA. Our chapter of EWB recently completed a water distribution system in Otho Abwao, Kenya, and constructing a schoolhouse in Burere, Tanzania. Our current project is to build a much larger water distribution system in Nyambogo, Tanzania.
The community of Tanzania is currently without easy access to potable water. There is a reservoir that they can draw water from, but it is contaminated, and leads to diseases in the village. EWB-UC is on the brink of drilling a borehole and installing a pump to allow a continuous, sustainable source of water to the residents of Nyambogo. I have been involved in this project primarily as the budget chair. I have been overseeing the budget for the Nyambogo project. Our first implementation trip to drill the borehole was set for the end of Spring Semester 2014, but had to be postponed due to a travel advisory in the neighboring country of Kenya. In future phases of this project, we plan to install large water tanks and a gravity fed distribution network to the pump and borehole system. I believe that the endeavors of groups such as EWB are crucial to spreading the benefits of technology. The residents of Nyambogo should not have to go without clean water simply because they were born in Nyambogo, when it is (relatively) easy for us to bring water to the community. |