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Omar Dana (center in photo), President of the USC chapter, is a Senior Civil Engineering student who is planning a Masters Degree in Construction Engineering.  Asia Kane (right) is a Senior Industrial and Systems Engineering student who is Events Chair of EWB and plans a career in Supply Chain Management at Target.  Tiffany Kao (left) is a Junior Chemical Engineering student and External Relations Chair for EWB.  They described their current clean-water projects in Honduras.

Bob Petak originally put us in contact with the USC Engineers without Borders, and this is their 2nd presentation to us.  The concept was started at the University of Colorado in Boulder to address basic human needs such as access to clean water, electrical power, sanitation and education.  There are now 250 chapters in 45 countries doing 350 projects.  The USC chapter was established in 2006, to provide sustained solutions to real-life engineering problems for those who need it the most.  These projects provide them with both practical experience in applying their new engineering knowledge and an appreciation for the social needs of less-fortunate people.         

Lack of access to safe clean water affects 1.1 billion people in the world, including one in 5 children.  This results in increased infectious diseases, loss of productivity, and children unable to go to school because they are kept busy carrying water for their families from a distant source.

They have finished both of their original projects in Honduras, at La Estanzuela and at Corral de Piedra.  They showed a video of their experiences in these communities, where they built small dams and installed pumps driven by waterwheels powered by water flow upstream from where animals drink and wear people are bathing and doing their laundry.  They designed and installed pipes over two-thirds of a mile, and holding tanks on concrete foundations, with the help of community volunteers.  They also trained community members to operate and maintain the systems to make them sustainable after the students finished.

Their future plans are focused on a nearby community, by enlarging and upgrading the structure of a one-room school which is much too small for its student population, and providing sanitation facilities there.  They need interest and support to obtain the equipment and materials they need for this.  To offer support, please contact EWB@USC.edu.