Engineers Without Borders: Uganda
For the first time in their lives, children in Masaka, Uganda, have access to clean water, light, television and a DVD player.
During an 18-day trip to the country, USU’s Engineers Without Borders constructed a well and water tower to help distribute clean water to a public boarding school that serves between 200 and 300 children.
The group also implemented solar panels to provide power.
John Sapp, a senior majoring in environmental engineering who traveled to Uganda, said their trip was a success because of the hard, continuous work of the USU students and community members in Masaka.
“When we were there, we worked 12 to 14 hours every day, trying to get a lot of things done in a short amount of time,” Sapp said. “We saw what needed to be done and we succeeded.”
Those who traveled to Uganda were students Sapp; David Sanders, a senior majoring in civil engineering; Ryan Davies, a senior majoring in civil engineering and Ashley Karras, a senior majoring in broadcast journalism.
William Grenney, co-faculty advisor of Engineers Without Borders, also traveled with the students.
Two professional engineers from Salt Lake City’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders also went to Uganda.
Since their first assessment trip one year ago, the students have been working on designs for the implementation of the well, water tower and solar panels, Sapp said.
Construction went smoothly with the exception of the well, Sapp said. The group was unable to use their original plan for implementation of the well because of unexpected soil consistency. They had to resort to “African technology,” a term coined by the group and people in Masaka, referring to the people’s creativity in design and ability to use their resources to build useful products.
“They are hard workers and very knowledgeable about construction practices,” Davies said. “People were able to take what we designed or what we needed constructed and, with their sometimes rudimentary tools, would know how to build it.”
The group continually praised the people of Masaka for their active involvement in the projects.
“They did a lot of work. In four hours, they did a day’s work. They were very eager to help,” said Karras, who traveled with the group to document their journey.
This was Sanders’ first trip to Uganda. He said he was surprised by the celebration held when they first arrived, comparing it to a reception party.
“We were received very well. They were drumming, singing and dancing. We felt very welcome,” Sanders said.
“They were very appreciative of what we were doing. Every time they walked by, they would tell you ‘good job’ and thank you for what you were doing,” Sanders said. “We all have our own stories. We all have our own background, but we are all the same and we got to know them while working side by side.”
The group traveled during the winter break and marked the Christmas holiday by singing and dancing with the children from the school.
Karras said she had taken candy to give to the children during their stay.
“I took Tootsie Rolls and handed them out on Christmas. I felt like Santa Claus,” Karras said.
Grenney said they were able to provide a television and DVD player for the school children because of donations given by USU’s Provost Office.
The school did not have modern teaching equipment, so Grenney said he suggested supplying one, giving them the opportunity to view educational programs like “Sesame Street” and “Leap Frog” which would actively involve the children in learning letters and numbers.
“The kids were awestruck when they first saw it. It was obvious immediately that programs of this type will really enhance what they are trying to do at school,” Grenney said. “This was experimental. It hasn’t been tried before in this area. I think it has potential.”
The TV and DVD player are powered by the solar panels taken by the group.
Grenney said funding for their projects come from donations or from money out of their own pockets, costing $6,000 in addition to travel.
Davies said, “We received a lot of help from our families, friends and the community. The government gives millions in aid, and we had just a few thousand dollars, but we were able to make a difference even to those few.”
While this was the last trip for many of the students, Grenney said Engineers Without Borders will continue to travel to Uganda. Grenney said there is still a lot of work to be done.
All are welcome to work with Engineers Without Borders. For more information, contact the group at ewbusu@cc.usu.edu.
-ariek@cc.usu.edu