Engineers Without Borders to visit South America for first time since pandemic
Posted by Kimber Crull
Missouri S&T’s Engineers Without Borders organization has worked remotely to implement rainwater catchment systems in Agua Fría, Ecuador. Photo courtesy of Engineers Without Borders.
Missouri S&T’s Engineers Without Borders team will soon be on the move, traveling to both Bolivia and Ecuador this month.
“These will be our team’s first international trips since before the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Anna Stephenson, a senior in chemical engineering and project lead for the trip to Atahuallani, Bolivia. “It’s something we are all excited about. Our group has volunteered for our projects remotely, and now we will have the opportunity to be in the field.”
For the project in Bolivia, a previous group of students visited in 2019 to meet with the community and conduct a preliminary assessment of the situation in person. Then, students worked remotely with Bolivian engineers to develop and implement a gravity-fed water system for the Atahuallani community to use.
Stephenson says this provided the community with a safer, more readily available source of water. The group’s next goal is to develop a latrine system, which will help with wastewater and potentially lower disease in the community.
Posted by Kimber Crull
