Engineers Without Borders

EWB is not just for engineers! We need lots of other skills to round out our chapter. Sustainability is a key element of our projects and that means developing a collaborative relationship with the community. We fully expect the community to be capable of operating and maintaining the project results over the long term which means education is a critical component of a successful project.

One of the initial projects we are looking into is an aqua duct / irrigation system to improve the local agriculture capabilities in rural Bolivia. We can engineer the water delivery system but what other improvements in agricultural techniques might get missed without YOUR input?

How can we best evaluate the physical health of the community and prepare educational materials without YOU?

Do YOU want to help disadvantaged people develop economic opportunities so they can better provide for their families? That’s precisely what EWB is about. We are offering a new platform, a new outlet, to people who have wanted to help and didn’t know where to go. Whatever your skills are we would like to talk with you about how you could help make a difference.

The AFA Student Chapter will hold their first meeting of the school year on Thursday, September 11th at 7:00pm. We will attend and provide an update on the Professional Chapter activities. In addition, we will look for opportunities to partner on projects and provide technical expertise where requested.

Cadet First Class Lindsey Robinson has taken over as President and Cadet First Class Adam Comer is the current Vice President.

The August Chapter meeting was held Thursday, August 21st at the Penrose Library in downtown Colorado Springs. We had a great turnout (double our last meeting!) and discussed strategies for building the organization. Top of the list is to continue making presentations to companies and organizations in the local area. If your company, or an organization you know, would be interested in hosting a 30 minute presentation detailing the mission of the Colorado Springs EWB Professional Chapter please contact us. We are actively seeking opportunities to share our vision.

Initial efforts are underway to identify a community that we can partner with and David Longrie volunteered to reestablish contacts in Bolivia from his previous EWB work experience. We agreed that our initial project focus would be on water-related projects within the Americas. For more details see the post in the Projects Tab.

The importance of sustainability was also discussed. EWB’s focus is on sustainable development, our projects are more than a simple humanitarian helping hand. The project design process will take into consideration the influence of the culture, utilize local resources where possible, and ensure ownership and maintenance is assumed by the community.

The next chapter meeting will occur on Sept 6th in conjunction with an Area Meeting with representation from the Student Chapters and the EWB-USA National office. Regular chapter meetings will then be held the first Thursday of each month beginning Oct. 2nd.