ASME teams up with Engineers Without Borders in humanitarian effort

John Varrasi
ASME Public Information

In March, while his classmates were sitting in engineering labs doing computer analysis and simulation, Keir Hart, a senior at the University of Colorado in Boulder, was trudging through the highlands of central Africa. He was there to survey a deteriorated water supply system serving the Rwandan village of Muramba.

Hart, an ASME student member, was in Rwanda to bring relief and aid to a community long on environmental problems and woefully short on technical solutions. The humanitarian organization and new ASME partner, Engineers Without Borders-USA, identified the pressing needs at Muramba and assembled a nine-person project team, including Hart and other students from the University of Colorado and the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Their mission was to assess the water supply infrastructure and environmental health conditions in the village, and begin to design a more efficient and sustainable engineering system.

ASME student member Keir Hart of the University of Colorado poses with some youngsters in Muramba, Rwanda, where he worked on the village's water supply system.

When Hart and his colleagues arrived on March 19, they saw a water supply system that was, essentially, a line of PVC pipes connecting Muramba to a stream in the distant hills. The team noted an insufficient number of filters as well as substandard spring boxes for channeling water and increasing flow. There were numerous leaks at the pipe couplings, the result of tropical rainstorms that pounded and lashed the shaky infrastructure, while mudslides contaminated surface water flowing into the system, creating a serious health problem for the villagers.

Tests of the water quality conducted by the engineering team indicated high levels of bacteria, which virtually contaminated the supply.

"Our system design will include material and biological filters to remedy the water contamination problem," said Hart. "And by installing new spring boxes, repairing leaks in the pipeline, and fixing some of the faulty plumbing in the village, we should be able to improve water flow by as much as 300 percent."

Hart is back at the University of Colorado now, eagerly working on Muramba's new water system. He hopes to be a part of the Engineers Without Borders team of students and professionals that travels to Rwanda for the second phase of the project. That will involve implementing the engineering design and constructing the concrete and stone spring boxes.

Engineers Without Borders is dedicated to training a new generation of engineers, like Keir Hart, who implement sustainable engineering solutions in developing regions of the world.

In addition to Muramba, the nonprofit group has coordinated outreach projects in Afghanistan, Mali, Peru, Senegal, Thailand and other regions.

In a project that was conducted during May 2003, a team of six engineering students from the Colorado School of Mines at Golden worked alongside the villagers of San Pablo, Belize, to situate a pair of solar panels and install the electrical wiring in a school, church and other community buildings.

ASME, which provided partial funding for the Belize project, has teamed up with Engineers Without Borders to promote the participation of Society members and student members in overseas projects slated for this fall and throughout 2005.

ASME President Reginald I. Vachon and Executive Director Virgil R. Carter recently signed an agreement with Engineers Without Borders to provide assistance with engineering needs for developing areas worldwide and to promote involvement among ASME members.

As the lead society for Engineers Week 2005, from Feb. 20-26, ASME will spearhead organizing support for Engineers-Without-Borders efforts from technical societies and other organizations. ASME will facilitate communications with engineering groups to organize project teams that will tackle specific problems around the world.

"We have teamed with Engineers Without Borders-USA to promote its mission to provide engineering solutions in developing areas worldwide," Vachon said. "Through this endeavor, we are enriching a new generation of ASME members to continue the tradition of the engineering profession to be socially responsible, while using technical expertise to provide remedies to present and future engineering challenges."

For Keir Hart, the experience in Rwanda added a dimension to his education that went beyond the daily regimen of classroom and laboratory exercises.

"There are not many opportunities for engineering students to perform work in the field and gain practical knowledge," said Hart. "The experience at Muramba has given me a renewed motivation and a greater respect for engineering."

ASME is now forming teams of engineering students, professional engineers and engineering faculty to take part in upcoming projects. For details, visit www.asme.org/students/ewb.html.

 

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