Engineers Without Borders-USA Volunteers Workto Improve Access to Clean Water

by Autumn Gorman

Engineers Without Borders-USA, 4665 Nautilus Court, Suite300, Boulder, CO 80301; (303) 772-2723; fax: (303) 772-2699;Autumn.Gorman@du.edu; EWB-USA contact: Jenny Starkey,jenny.starkey@ewb-usa.org

There is much discussion and debate over waterissues in recent years—virtually every country faceschallenges in meeting the demands of growing populationswith increasing urbanization, pollution, and desertificationin some areas, such as sub-Saharan Africa. Developingcountries, with limited social and economic development,face the additional challenges of poverty, hunger, anddisease, which are compounded by inadequate safedrinking water supplies and water to irrigate crops and

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keep livestock. At least 1.2 billion of the 6.6 billionpeople worldwide do not have direct access to water,especially to clean water.

Many organizations working in the developing worldhave expressed concerns over the increasing potentialfor conflict over water, particularly as river basins andwatersheds cross multiple national and ethnic boundaries.As an example, the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, is thought tobe exacerbated by an extended drought and encroachmentof the desert that had reduced the amount of arableland shared by primarily seminomadic, Arabic livestockherders, and agricultural farmers (Straus, 2005).

Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA) wasfounded in 2002 by University of Colorado-Boulder CivilEngineering Professor Bernard Amadei from a convictionthat engineers along with other professionals have aleadership role to play in addressing serious problems thataffect the developing world. Contaminated water, pooror nonexistent sanitation systems, energy sources that areexpensive and harmful to the environment and limitedaccess to markets, schools, and health clinics exacerbatepoverty and living conditions in the developing countries.

Amadei developed a process of listening, build-ing consensus, and working with communities and non-governmental organizations that is implemented in everyEWB-USA project. EWB-USA chapters partner withdeveloping communities around the world to address spe-cific needs such as access to clean water. These chapters,located across the United States, make a minimum 5-yearcommitment to these developing communities, and thesepartnerships help to ensure that projects are sustainableand designed and implemented to best serve the commu-nity. By partnering with the local communities, chaptersare able to learn what is needed most and communitieshave access to experts who can assist those needs. To date,EWB-USA student and professional chapters are work-ing on more than 400 projects, and over 100 have beenimplemented thus far.

The partnerships with the communities are criticaland encourage dialog between chapter members, commu-nity members, and other involved parties, such as localnongovernmental organizations. Projects are selected byeveryone involved, and if the systems cannot be main-tained, repaired, and replicated by the community whenthe EWB-USA team leaves, then the project is not imple-mented. This is where EWB-USA volunteers use theircreativity and employ materials and designs far differentfrom those typically used for projects in the developedcountries. With their knowledge and experience, thought-fulness and compassion, EWB-USA volunteers are chang-ing lives.

To date, EWB-USA has touched the lives of morethan 1 million people in more than 45 countries. Because180 of more than 300 chapters are located on universitycampuses, EWB-USA provides avenues that encouragethe next generation of engineers to be socially consciousand deeply aware of the developing world.

The majority of EWB-USA’s projects address issuesaround water and sanitation in the developing world

in response to primary community needs, particularlyin postconflict areas. In one such project, the EWB-USA—Utah State University Chapter (EWB-USA USU)worked with the Byana Mary Hill Primary School andOrphanage in Uganda. This area of Uganda has manyrefugee camps. Due to government conflicts, the Lord’sResistance Army (LRA) has forced thousands of peoplefrom their villages, and this has resulted in a high level ofpoverty. According to the World Bank (2009), nearly 85%of the Ugandan population lives on less than $1 per day.

The Byana Mary Hill Primary School and Orphanage,working with the Ssejinja Children’s Foundation, wantedto improve their infrastructure for water, lighting, sani-tation, and living conditions. The school also needed toexpand its agricultural productivity to meet the children’snutritional needs. EWB-USA USU first visited the schoolin 2005 to assess its needs. Water samples taken from thenearby water source, a marsh, showed that the water wascontaminated. Ugandans are at a very high risk of infec-tious diseases, including bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A,typhoid fever, malaria, plague, African trypanosomiasis(sleeping sickness), and schistosomiasis (Central Intelli-gence Agency 2009). In addition, young students spendtoo much time transporting drinking water from its sourceto the school, which reduces their study time. EWB-USAUSU identified the need for better water sources and distri-bution systems, a power source for lights and computers,and improving the school’s toilets, fish pond, and kitchenfacilities.

After discussing potential ways to solve the school’swater and other issues and discussing various designapproaches with the community, the EWB-USA volun-teers returned to the United States to finalize designs.They returned in 2006 to implement the projects. Chaptermembers, working with the community, dug a shallowwell, which was connected to the school by a 600 ftpipeline (Figure 1). The completed water system includeda pump, a diesel generator, a 500-gallon storage tank, anda rainwater catchment. The EWB-USA USU and SsejinjaChildren’s Foundation partnership also set up solar pan-els to provide power to the school’s computers. A basickitchen renovation was also performed to create a betterand more sanitary food preparation environment. On sub-sequent trips, the partners built a new dormitory; installedsolar power, wiring, and light throughout the campus;laid concrete floors in classrooms; established a library;renovated the doctor’s office; added recreational equip-ment (playground, tether ball, volleyball) to the schoolgrounds; upgraded the computer lab with wireless inter-net; and installed additional water tanks, a patio, andwalkways.

EWB-USA USU continues to focus on furtherimprovements to the Byana Mary Hill Primary Schooland Orphanage. Volunteers are presently exploring waysto improve and expand the school’s agricultural operationsthrough the addition of an irrigation system. The EWB-USA USU team is also constructing a fish pond and willcollaborate with the school and the Ugandan Ministry ofEducation on the construction of a new toilet. There are

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Figure 1. Student from EWB-USA USU shows communityhow to cut slats for the well being constructed at the ByanaMary Hill Primary School and Orphanage, Uganda.

also plans to upgrade the computer lab and investigateadditional energy sources. Other chapters of EWB-USAare working at other locations in Uganda.

The above example, as well as other ongoing effortsto bring clean water, power, education, agriculture, andinfrastructure and improve the lives of those living inareas affected by conflict, make a real difference in break-ing the cycle of hopelessness and violence. EWB-USA’s

efforts also make a difference in the developed world.Founder Bernard Amadei, during his many travels, hearsstories involving engineering students who were consid-ering changing majors until they found the EWB-USAchapter on their campus. He reports hearing from grad-uates considering job offers and encourages them to askhow such firms may support their employees’ interests inhumanitarian work before they make a final employmentdecision. He has also heard stories of high school studentswho are only considering universities with a EWB-USAchapter. To summarize, he states, “I think we are respond-ing to a growing need in our students, young professionalsand seasoned experts regarding the desire to give some-thing back, to help others in a truly transformative wayand the need to begin addressing problems by listening tothose that are directly affected by them.”

To learn more about EWB-USA and more than 400projects helping people around the world, please visitwww.ewb-usa.org.

ReferencesCentral Intelligence Agency. 2009. The World Factbook. www.

cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook (accessedApril 18, 2009).

Straus, S. 2005. Darfur and the genocide debate. Foreign Affairs84, no.1: 123–133.

World Bank. 2009. Poverty Analysis. www.worldbank.org(accessed September 3, 2009).

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