In April 2000, Dr. Bernard Amadei, professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, visited a community in San Pablo, Belize, to assess their water supply. He learned that the 950 Mayan Indians living in the heart of the Belize jungle lacked clean water and sanitation infrastructure, and that most of the community’s children did not attend school because their time was dedicated to collecting water from miles away.
While the community had the natural resources and motivation to build a reliable water supply system, they lacked the technical skills to design a lasting solution. Professor Amadei went home and consulted colleagues on potential solutions, then returned to the community with a prototype and fourteen of his students to put the plan into action. The team installed a clean water system supplied and powered by a waterfall a quarter-mile from the community. This simple and low-cost solution was the first EWB-USA project
Dr. Amadei continued to harness the power of engineers to complete high-impact projects in other developing countries by officially founding Engineers Without Borders USA in 2002. Since then, EWB-USA has grown from a handful of passionate individuals to thousands of passionate volunteers working on hundreds of engineering projects across the globe.
The Lehigh Valley Professional Chapter is a professional organization composed of engineers and technical experts from the valley and surrounding region. Most of these individuals volunteer their time while maintaining full time employment at area corporations. Skills include all types of engineering as well as biology, chemistry, health sciences, social sciences, languages and communications. You do not need to be an engineer to join. We need all kinds of professional skills for our projects. Professional engineers, engineering students, and others in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding region who would like to be part of the solution are invited to join our chapter. We need people with a wide variety of technical and non-technical skills. We meet monthly to “Build a Better World”.
We have a long relationship with the people of Mattru Jong, Sierra Leone, which began in 2010. Our first project there was to renovate the local school which had been damaged in the long civil war. After completing the work at the school, we continued working in Mattru at a hospital just down the road. We work hand in hand with members of the community who provide their skills, time, and local knowledge while we provide the engineering know how.
Our other project area centers around the rural Dominican Republic communities of Machete and Cabeza de Toro need clean water, sanitation, electricity and road improvements to stop emigration of younger people and improve the lives of current residents. These facilities would give the towns the resources they need to thrive in the Dominican economy. A clean water supply system was the first project implemented in our 5-year program, which is still ongoing.
Habitat for Humanity: Our members frequently volunteer locally supporting Habitat for Humanity, a great cause that helps people right here in the Lehigh Valley.
Do you know of a professional organization or employer where we could make an introductory presentation? Let us know!
Please contact us for more information about any of the above at: lehighvalley@chapters-ewb-usa.org