WRITTEN BY WANDA CURTIS
Engineers possess many skills which can make the world a better place to live. Whether constructing a water filtration system or designing a school, they can improve the lives of people in the communities they serve. American engineer and author Henry Petroski once said engineers are in a position to change the world.
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a group of professionals doing just that. Engineers from across the U.S. volunteer their skills to improve living conditions of people throughout the world. The national office (EWB-USA) maintains a database of projects for communities in need. The individual chapters then decide which projects best match their skills and implement the projects.
Maine Engineers Step Up
The Portland Maine Professional Chapter is involved in community-based engineering projects worldwide, ranging from drinking water and sanitation to education and infrastructure. They also support STEM outreach activities in their local neighborhoods and foster leadership among their volunteers.
Portland’s team leader Julianne Page said the vision of EWB is for every community to have the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs. Helping people meet their most basic needs improves not only their overall health, security, and safety, but also aids their human dignity, she said.
Portland team members come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are college students, some are actively employed in professions, and others are retired. Both engineers and non-engineers volunteer for the projects.
“While many of our current members are civil and environmental engineers, other past and present members include transportation engineers, mechanical engineers, aerospace engineers, toxicologists, computer scientists, and even a disability claims specialist,” Page said. “We also have several geologists who generously donate their time to helping other chapters around the country with projects involving drilling wells. Since our chapter is based in Portland, our members primarily live in Southern Maine and New Hampshire.”
Around the World
Since the Portland chapter’s inception in 2010, volunteers have completed projects in both Ghana and Ethiopia. They teamed with the Community Directed Development Foundation (CDDF) in to support a potable water project in the village of Dogobom in Ghana, Page said. Dogobom is located in a coastal dry savannah area with the lowest rainfall in Ghana.
“This small rural community did not have a safe water supply,” Page said. “The groundwater is saline, and the stormwater collection pond is turbid and easily contaminated. Approximately 30 percent of the community had contracted parasitic diseases including malaria and schistosomiasis, both of which impacted the health and lives of the community and could be managed via clean water. Over several years, the chapter installed a rainwater harvest system that would provide several days of water for the entire community with only 0.5 inches of rain. A pilot system was constructed with the help of the community, and we left them with the tools and resources to maintain it.”
According to Page, the system was successful and several more were installed in additional buildings. However, over time the community stopped maintaining the systems and didn’t provide data needed to continue the pilot testing. Page said the success was short-lived, but the group learned a lot from the experience and have taken those lessons in their next projects.
“We are still in touch with the community and willing to help should there be an opportunity,” Page said.
Building in Ethiopia
The second project the team engaged in was designing a community center and school in the Kabele 9 region of Debre Birhan, Ethiopia. It was part of the world’s largest Habitat for Humanity project, Page said.
“Our contribution was to provide engineering support for design and construction of a school building, composting latrines, and water lines for handwashing stations,” she said. “The project will ultimately provide school buildings for over 1,000 students featuring over 100 laptops donated by EWB-PMP, a community center for adults, test gardens for vegetables, bamboo, and fruits, and a regulation size track and football (soccer) field.”
A New Project in Ecuador
The Portland team is currently involved with a project in El Progreso, Ecuador. They’re partnering with NGO, Engineers in Action to provide a reliable drinking water system for the small farming community of 150 residents located in the cloud forest near the Andes mountains, said Page.
During their most recent trip in January, a spring box was constructed along with over 1 km of piping to convey water from the spring box to the location of two 5,000 liter storage tanks that were installed on a previous trip, she said. The team will return in June to work with the community on construction of the distribution system and ultimately provide access for safe drinking water to every home.
Living conditions for residents of communities served by the team vary, said Page. Many El Progreso residents are farmers who grow crops like sugarcane, coffee, and cacao. Several process their sugar cane into a product similar to brown sugar called “panela,” she said.
“The steep slopes of the Andes foothills mean they are mainly limited to using hand tools and mules for working their fields, and their income from growing such crops can fluctuate wildly based on changes made throughout the global supply chain,” Page said. “Most members of the community have access to electricity and cell phone service but may not own their own vehicle and must rely on others to take them on the 20-minute trip to Pacto (the nearest neighboring town) or 3-hour trip to Quito (the nearest major city) as needed.”
EWB-PMP President Steven Laudage said overall their work has been well received by the communities they’ve served. He said the Ecuador project has experienced a lot of obstacles and delays, particularly with COVID. So they’ve had to reassure the residents they’re still committed to the project, despite the delays.
“On our most recent trip we made a lot of progress and demonstrated our continued commitment, and by the end of the trip the energy level in the community was very high,” Laudage said. “For their part, they also continue to show commitment to
the project and organized groups of 10 volunteers to help us with construction each day of the trip.”
Support and the Future
According to Laudage, local Maine businesses can support EWB-PMP initiatives via sponsorship. They have an annual fundraiser with a silent auction where arts and items from local vendors and project countries are auctioned off.
Laudage said the group is currently focused on completing the Ecuador
project, however, they may review databases of available projects on EWB-USA’s website, later this year, to find another future project which fits with the skill set and interest of their team members.