Utah State students lend an international helping hand
organization that sends groups all around the world to build whatever is needed in the area.
The Utah State University chapter is planning trips to Tibet, Peru and Uganda to carry out projects such as laying pipeline, digging wells and teaching local residents how to build more efficient houses, wells and outhouses.
The program has about 40 students, most of whom are engineering majors, but others have participated in past trips, including a biology major, business major and nursing major. An open social is planned for Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the Engineering Laboratory Building for anyone interested in participating.
“There’s a lot more that goes into it than just pure engineering, there’s also arranging stuff with people down there and the humanitarian groups,” Kathryn Wixom, a graduate engineering student, said.
The chapter only began planning in September 2004. Professor Bill Grenney, the club sponsor, said he was impressed by what the students have accomplished.
“Compared to other chapters at other universities, this group has really taken off,” he said.
“Normally, it takes one of these chapters about a year to get organized, and the first trip we took was within about six months from when the club was formally established,” Grenney said. “They’ve been working hard.”
Preliminary trips to Tibet and Peru have already been carried out to determine the location of the projects and what they will entail. Second trips have been planned for next year. Students have not yet sent a group to Uganda.
In the program, part of the group goes to scout out the area and find where they are most needed. Then, later, the rest of the group goes to do the work planned by the preliminary team.
The trips take about two weeks to complete. Students spend their time taking water samples and evaluating where their skills could be best invested, as well as taking in the sights. The students were amazed by the friendly reception they received, said Wixom and Matt Hebdon, another graduate engineering student. Both went to Peru in August.
“The whole community would just pile around the wells and watch you do everything,” Wixom said.
The teams did not suffer for lack of hospitality, said Hebdon and Wixom. One community organized a dance for the students and even slaughtered a sheep for the celebration.
“They only kill about one sheep a month. They hardly ever eat meat. It was a rare occasion for them,” said Hebdon.
While there, the team tested water in five wells, three of which were found to be unfit for drinking, and conducted pump tests to determine if the aquifer could handle the 20 wells planned for the area. They also constructed bathrooms, roofs and helped fix a few stoves, Wixom said.
For their next trip, planned for next summer, Hebdon and Wixom said the team plans to build more wells, relocate outhouses farther from water supplies and find a cheaper, more efficient water pump. Besides teaching the people how to build better wells and outhouses, they said they hope to educate them about public health issues and ground water flow.
Grenney traveled with the Tibet team, along with Cristina Nelson, an engineering student and others. Their preliminary trip was in June. They tested water to determine whether a new pipeline was necessary for the area. If they don’t need to lay new pipes, the team’s agenda for the second trip in May 2006 will include installing solar showers at a boarding school for children of Tibetan nomads and educating the locals about how to build better houses.
The Tibet team had an experience similar to that of the Peru team, with locals who seemed thrilled to have the students visit and eager to help out.
“That seems to be one of the real characteristics of this organization in general,” Grenney said. “We were attempting to get to a water intake at a river, to get some elevations and do some surveying so we could see the gradient of the pipeline, and we had to get across the river. Some nomads came along and they transported us across the river on horseback.”
Nelson remembered the incident, as well.
“For a while, they took our surveying equipment over and then they had to leave. So we got stuck with surveying equipment on one side and us on the other,” she said. “A bit of a precarious situation there.”
The club is open to the idea of expanding their current workload of three projects, Grenney said, and the club is organized to allow it, but the big problem is fundraising. Students have to pay their own way to participate in the trips and materials must also be purchased.
“Each team is in charge of fundraising for their team, so they actively pursue fundraising for their projects,” said John Sapp, president of the program. Sapp is working with the Uganda team, which is making their preliminary trip in December. They are planning on working with an orphanage with over 200 children.
Sapp said the group is planning to get involved locally this semester, as well.
“We’re also trying to do service-oriented projects within the local community to get more involvement within our chapter as well as the student body as a whole. We’re trying to work with Habitat for Humanity. There’s a new chapter that’s starting here in Logan,” he said.
As far as materials and expenses go, the teams must travel too far to bring along a bunch of plywood, so they have to purchase materials there. Campbell Scientific has donated some equipment and Eagle Condor, a humanitarian aid association based in Salt Lake City, helped the Peru team with their travel expenses and arrangements.