ISSUE
ENGINEERS
01
How to Get Involved • Come check out one of our general meetings.
WITHOUT BORDERS STUDENT CHAPTER
SPRING 2012
EWBUCLA
We meet on Tuesday nights during the school year, from 6pm-7pm in Engr IV 38-138. We will go over some general club topics, then split up into project groups. If it is your first time, just talk to Suzanne, the president , after the meeting and she will answer any of your questions.
this issue
• Become a member of Engineers Without Borders USA.
Mission, Vision, & Past Projects P.1
Help make a difference by becoming part of a nationally renowned group of volunteers that partner with those in need
CONTACT
Guatemala Water Project P.2
around the world. Our members are building bridges and reliable shelters; they are working with the communities to access clean water and electricity and are utilizing their education and skill sets abroad. Become a member and change
PRESIDENT Suzanne Brown
a life! What are you waiting for? Get involved with Engineers Without Borders USA today!
ewbucla@gmail.com HTTP://SITES.GOOGLE.COM/SITE/EWBUCLA/ HTTP://WWW.EWB-LA.ORG
BOOTUP LA Project P.6
Visit http://www.ewb-usa.org/get-involved/membership for more details.
• Consider being a sponsor for any of our sustainable projects. Civil and Environmental Engineering Department 420 Westwood Plaza 5732 Boelter Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095
Nicaragua S.E.D. Project P.4
OUR MISSION
Your financial support plays an integral role in helping us see our plans into action. Whether you are part of the Bruin family, a trusted friend, or a corporate supporter, you can help us MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Our students take on the entire project, from conception, all the way through assessment, design, construction, and follow-up. Now we need your support to help us continue the effort. Credit card donations allocated to the University of California LA Chapter can be made online at http://ssl.charityweb.net/ewbusa/. Checks written to “UC Regents” (with the memo: EWB-UCLA) can be mailed to the address on the left. Thank you for helping us build a better world by engineering sustainable solutions.
EWB Testimonials P.7
EWB-USA supports community-driven
How to Get Involved P.8
development programs worldwide by collaborating with local partners to design
Helping communities meet their basic human needs.
and implement sustainable engineering projects, while
EWB-USA
creating transformative
Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) is a
experiences and
nonprofit humanitarian organization established to
responsible leaders.
support community-driven development programs worldwide through partnerships that design and implement sustainable engineering projects. EWBUSA members, comprised of professionals and
OUR VISION
students of engineering or other disciplines, work with local communities and NGOs in over 45 coun-
A world in which the communities we serve have the capacity to sustainably
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department 420 Westwood Plaza 5732 Boelter Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095
tries around the world on projects such as water, renewable energy, sanitation and more. EWB-USA has grown from little more than a handful of mem-
meet their basic human needs, and that our members have enriched
bers in 2002 to over 12,000 members today and has over 350 projects worldwide. EWB-USA main-
global perspectives through
tains over 250 dedicated student and professional
the innovative professional
chapters, and has touched the lives of more than
educational opportunities
one million people.
that the EWB-USA
Chocantiry, Guatemala No Lae, Thailand
Rain Harvest & Water Distribution Project Began construction in 2010
Schoolhouse Project, completed in 2009
EWB-UCLA STUDENT CHAPTER Here at UCLA, we are furthering the EWB-USA mission one project at a time. In 2005, we helped start a health clinic in Samli, Thailand. In 2006, we set up a sustainable computer lab for a children’s center in Jocotenango, Guatemala, and donated computers to an orphanage in Lira, Uganda. From 2007-2010, we built a retaining wall in Mexico, a rainwater catchment system in Guatemala, a schoolhouse in Thailand, and latrines in Nicaragua. Today, we are working on a schoolhouse for a
program provides.
community in Las Breñas, Nicaragua, and finishing
Special thanks to the following organizations for their support:
up our rainwater catchment system in Guatemala. Our BOOTUP Project, which was started in 2005, donates refurbished computers to local schools in Kukra River, Nicaragua Latrine Sanitation Project. Completed in 2009. Above: digging out the topsoil. Right: in front of the finished latrine.
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the Los Angeles area.
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Provide meaningful engineering and project management experience that is well rounded in nature.
PROJECT STAT US PROJECT IMPACT Number of persons affected Directly: 90 15 Tanks Constructed
WHY ARE YOU INVOLVED WITH EWB? Each member has his or her own story behind why they are involved with Engineers Without Borders. Maybe their reasons will inspire you to become an active member as well. Read on to find out more.
Momostenango, Guatemala
LOCAL NGO PARTNER
Left: Guatemala team members create the iron frame for the above ground tank.
CassSito is a non-profit organiza-
Derek Meng
tion that helps to provide solutions and incentives to Guatema-
GUATEMALA RAINWATER CATCHMENT SYSTEMS CHICANTORY WATER PROJECT
lan communities to encourage their children to attend and finish their education all the way
THE NEED
EWB-UCLA RESPONSE
Since the project construction’s start
In the town of Momostenango, Gua-
To support the local development of
in 2008, our team has completed
temala, appreciable rainfall occurs
the community, our project’s goal is
four phases of the project, fund-
The total cost of the project for
only six months out of the year.
to provide families in Momostenango
raised, and constructed a total of 15
this year is $12,000.
When there is no rain, women and
with a reliable, constant source of
ferrocement water tanks.
children must walk several kilome-
clean, drinkable water during the dry
ters a day, sometimes on multiple
season.
through high school.
PROJECTED COSTS
PROJECT & TRAVEL TEAM - Project Lead -
- Engineering & Technical Lead AJ Rieck
streams that are unsuitable for consumption. This daily chore of finding
- June Travel Team -
water causes children to miss school
Maanya Condamoor
and women to leave their homes.
Megan Webar
fifth phase in summer of 2012 of
first began in 2006, when a team
building additional water collection
from EWB-UCLA traveled to meet
systems in the community. As we
with community-elected representa-
want to further promote the local
tives,
local
sustainability of this project, we are
Diego Rubalcava-Alvarez
The water they do retrieve is not
NGOs, and contractors about creat-
beginning to reduce our direct in-
Tiffany Chang
safe for consumption. There is a
ing a sustainable solution.
volvement in the community and are
Ivneet Bhullar
large amount of heavy metal and
- Professional Mentor Tony Antich, P.E.
organic contaminants that lead to gastrointestinal diseases. This sickness cripples a family’s ability to perform work. Children become too sick to attend school, mothers become too ill to care for their family, and fathers become too sick to go to work and earn money for them.
currently putting together an instrucWe’ve developed a rainwater collection system consisting of a 7,500liter concrete water tank that collects rainwater routed from the houses’ roofs.
These
water
tanks
hold
enough water to supply a family with more than a third of their clean drinking water for the entirety of the dry season.
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professionals,
Fourth Year Chemical Engineering
“Simply put, I left my heart in Nicaragua, and I want to see this project through. I want little Diego, Noelia, and Carla to benefit from our schoolhouse. I am also attracted to the interdisciplinary engineering partnerships formed through EWB. Working with Civil E, Mech E, and EE students has been rewarding and valuable.”
Nico Chaves First Year Civil Engineering
FUTURE WORK
Communication with the local area
water
Crystal Lin
Since coming to UCLA this year, I’ve made an effort to try out just about every civil engineering club on campus. As much as I’ve enjoyed being a part of these different projects, my time spent with Engineer Without Border’s Nicaragua Project has definitely been the most rewarding. When you work with EWB, not only do you get to develop engineering skills, you have the opportunity to use these skills to benefit others as well. This is what makes EWB such a unique club and what has led me continue to be involved in the Nicaragua project. I’m proud to be a part of EWB, and I’m excited to travel with the team to Nicaragua this summer to put our design into action!
The travel team plans to complete a
trips, to collect water from rivers and
Brandon Lanthier
First Year Electrical Engineering
“Having spent four years in Model UN and three in a debate club, I found a growing passion for the issues that often popped up in these clubs. Ranging from potable drinking water to providing primary education (essentially, the Millennium Developmental Goals), the hardships faced by a large portion of the global population every year depressed but encouraged me to learn more and to do more. Coming to UCLA as an electrical engineer major, I understand that the likelihood of my future career crossing paths with my passion is small. Thus, I came to Engineers Without Borders as a way to pursue my passion. This club fit exactly into what I was looking for - a way to continue my passion but through an engineering related route.”
Dasha Gloutak Second Year Mechanical Engineering
"I'm involved in EWB because it benefits not only myself and other EWB members, but also people in need on a global scale. EWB gives us the chance to take what we have learned in class and apply it to a project for a community in need. In high school, I was able to partake in my church's annual trip to Mexico where we would build a few houses for families in need. It was such a great experience getting to know the families and building the house, and EWB has allowed me to continue volunteering and helping and giving to others where I have been blessed. I can't wait to go to Nicaragua this September!"
tion manual with integrated translations, pictures, and diagrams. Our local partner NGO and the community’s elected representatives have the framework set for expansion. Expansion will not only provide more households with drinkable water but will also help build economic resources within the community.
“I joined Engineers Without Borders because I wanted to participate in a project that would give me the opportunities to both help others in need and apply my engineering education that I’ve learned in the classroom. After a trip to Ethiopia in 2008 to study the success of different drinking water systems and well projects, I came back wanting to go in a certain direction in my life. EWB provided that route. I am happy to say that as an undergrad, I learned as much about the Nicaragua Project through volunteering. As a graduate student, I have continued participating, but I feel far better equipped to help realize the projects goals.”
Henry Phan Masters Student Environmental Engineering
Eugene De Valle, P.E. Ph. D. Candidate Structural Engineering
“It is easy to get jaded living in the United States. Life here is quite comfortable and it is easy to over exaggerate personal problems until stepping into someone else’s shoes and see how they live. Although there is poverty no matter where you live, participating with Engineers without Borders (EWB) gave me the opportunity and challenge to utilize my engineering skills for a country/ community not familiar to me. On a more local level, participating in EWB has been very rewarding. Teaching fellow members who are willing to step up to the challenge and learn more about building construction, has been one of my best experiences in UCLA. Their passion and energy to help complete strangers motivates me and gives me confidence in what I do. Finally our mentors are more than willing to teach us how to become better engineers as well as encourage us to become better people. Even though one person cannot solve all the world’s problems, but hopefully our collective effort through EWB nudges the world towards a more positive direction.”
WHAT’S YOUR STORY? 7
PROJECT STAT US
Partnering with local communities to design and implement sustainable engineering solutions.
PROJECT IMPACT Number of persons affected Directly: 60 Indirectly: 100
EWB UCLA
TRIP RECAP
INTO EL RAMA
Las Breñas, Nicaragua
LOCAL NGO PARTNER
Sustainable Harvest International) is a non-profit organization stationed in
We took a 6 hour bus ride from
Left: Mentor Paul explaining the schoolhouse design to the local community
FUNCOS (Nicaragua division of
Managua to El Rama.
NICARAGUA S.E.D. PROJECT
NICARAGUA SANITATION EDUCATION & DEVELOPMENT (S.E.D.) PROJECT
Bluefields, Nicaragua. They
The team met with the community
The team dug out drainage channels
Currently, many of the children of
members of Las Breñas Sector III
along the edges of the excavation
Las Breñas only attend school for
regarding construction and project
site to account for the rainy weather
half the year, if at all. The heavy
guidelines. The team also met with
that would come before the next
rains and the long distance to the
FUNCOS directors to discuss the
return trip.
PROJECTED COSTS
nearest schoolhouse prevent them
design and construction logistics of
The total cost of the
from getting their education. Our
the schoolhouse. A centralized loca-
schoolhouse project is $35,000
project’s goal is to provide the
tion was chosen based on the com-
children access to education by
munity’s
giving them the means and ensuring
and
their safety.
tests were taken. In
with both the proper training and the necessary tools to preserve the natural forests, while helping them overcome poverty.
for completion. We have an immediate need of $10,000 to
preliminary
soil
December 2011, the EWB-UCLA RESPONSE
travel team made a
- Project Leads Oren Freiberg Henry Phan - Engineering & Technical Lead -
In June 2010, the implementation and
assessment
phase
of
the
schoolhouse was completed.
Eugene de Valle
3D Drawing of Schoolhouse Design
Jonathan Wright - December Travel Team -
Crystal Lin, Wesley Mercado,
Summer 2012 to begin construction on the schoolhouse
“It’s refreshing to see how much the community appreciates and enjoys life despite lacking the basic comforts that we take for granted in the US.”
trip and surveyed the
-Warren Kadoya Travel Team
proposed schoolhouse site. The team then
foundation. There is still a need for the purchase of materials such as concrete, cement, and various construction Your
tools.
forward with the project.
design
plans
were
Side
Front
the amount of manual labor, while still strictly adhering to U.S. building
Mike Dadik, P.E.
guidelines.
Price Per Unit Units Needed $200 30 containers $10 50 bags $60 3000 lbs $5 5 boxes $890 0.5 m 3 --Schoolhouse Materials Sub Total
Estimated Cost $6,000 $500 $2,000 $25 $500 $1,000 $10,025
Price Per Unit Units Needed $690 8 travelers $17.50 8 travelers --$10 8 travelers Travel & Logistics Sub Total
Estimated Cost $5,520 $140 $410 $80 $6,150
Travel & Logistics Item Description Airfare Bus/Boat Tickets (to Bluefields, Nicaragua) Gas & Driver Fee for Private Boat to/from Project Site Visas
hour boat ride to Bluefields, and spent the night at FUNCOS.
INTO LAS BREÑAS
During a 9 hour boat ride into the community, we capsized!
SCHOOLHOUSE SITE
Housing & Accommodations Item Description Hostel in Managua Food at Project Site (rice & b eans)
partnership
would help us move
began excavation with the help of
redesigned and updated to reduce
- Professional Mentors -
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assessment
schoolhouse
Charlotte Insull, Dennis Nguyen,
Paul Friedlander, P.E.
The travel team plans to return in
the local community members. The
Warren Kadoya, Albert Yang,
Gerard Convento
second
Item Description Concrete Cement Rebar Nails Wood, 1x12 beams, 8' Contracted Labor
FUTURE WORK
preference,
build the foundation.
PROJECT & TRAVEL TEAM
From El Rama, we took a 2
Schoolhouse Materials THE NEED
provide local farming families
INTO BLUEFIELDS
Budget Breakdown Schoolhouse Phase : FOUNDATION
Price Per Unit Units Needed $15 8 travelers --Housing & Accommodations Sub Total
We greatly appreciate any donation you could offer us. We guarantee that 100% Nicaragua Project of your donation will be put towards our project. Engineers Without BordersTotal Expenses USA is a registered 501(c)3 organization. All donations are tax deductible.
Amount Raised Current Need
Estimated Cost $120 $50 $170
The community members helped us dig out the topsoil.
Need $16,345 $6,400 $9,945
The community members eagerly await the start of construction. This
A LOOK INTO THE COMMUNITY
summer, all of us hope to be one step closer to seeing the schoolhouse completed for the children.
*Drawings made by Albert Tang, fourth year Mechanical Engineering student, Travel Team
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BOOTUPLA
TRIP RECAP
EWB UCLA
EWB-UCLA supports education through technology in the inner city of Los Angeles
PROJECT PROGRESS EWB’s Guatemala travel team completed two more tanks during their September Implementation Trip this past fall.
GUATEMALA WATER PROJECT Budget Breakdown Monitoring Phase : WATER TANKS Tank Materials WHAT IS BOOTUP? BOOTUP is a project within EWB that works to bring the
PROJECT STATUS
educational advantages of computers to underprivileged students in Los Angeles’s unfunded inner city schools. Computers and computer equipment are accepted from donors who find out about the program through advertising or word of mouth. The BOOTUP team then refurbish-
Item Description On Campus Prototype Tank Materials for 8 Tanks Contracted Labor
PROJECT IMPACT Number of persons affected Directly: 30 Indirectly: 50
es the computers and donates them to a local school, where the students can use them for everything from writing essays to researching topics for their science
PARTNER SCHOOLS
projects. We usually take computers that are 3-10 years old and in working condition. It is generally best to
New Los Angeles Carter School
bishing session, everyone gets together to fix up the computers and prep them for donation. We schedule a time and date to deliver the computers to the school, and we make sure that all the computers are working before we leave the school.
HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?
PROJECT TEAM - Project Leads Rohit Mathew Sandeep Bhateja
A completed above ground water catchment tank.
CONSTRUCTION
Travel & Logistics Item Description Airfare Ground Transportation Miscellaneous Visas for 8 Travelers
Spring Preparation $4,750 -$200
Summer Implementation Estimated Total -$4,750 $800 $800 $300 $500 $80 $80 Travel & Logistics Sub Total $6,130
Housing & Accommodations
take donations from small businesses that want to get rid of large amounts of computers and equipment at once. We do also accept donations from individuals. Once we have collected enough computers for a refur-
Spring Summer Preparation Implementation Estimated Total $2,000 -$2,000 -$1,600 $1,600 -$1,000 $1,000 Tank Materials Subtotal $4,600
Item Description Lodging for 8 Travelers Meals and Food We greatly appreciate any do natio n yo u co uld o ffer us. We guarantee that 100% o f yo ur do natio n will be put to wards o ur pro ject. Engineers Witho ut B o rders-USA is a registered 501(c)3 o rganizatio n. A ll do natio ns are tax deductible.
EWB team members begin cementing the wire frame.
Spring Summer Preparation Implementation Estimated Total -$450 $450 -$900 $900 Housing & Accommodations Sub Total $1,350
Guatemala Project Need Total Expenses Amount Raised Current Need
PROJECT SUCCESSES The team found that families that own a tank save 6 manhours a day during the dry
$12,080 $5,000 $7,080
season and that their water quality is safe for consumption
BOOTUP meets on a need-basis. To get involved with BOOTUP no prior experience is necessary, all you need is approximately 10 hours to give per month to refurbish computers and help
A LOOK INTO THE COMMUNITY
set them up at the recipient schools. We will teach you all you need to know about refurbishing computers, just come with an open mind! We usually meet in the EWB office on the 6th floor of Boelter Hall. Please contact either Rohit or Sandeep, and we will let you know when the next meeting is.
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