This semester Tufts Engineers Without Borders has looked quite different from previous semesters, but we have managed to continue working hard on our projects via Zoom, and have even thrown in a few fun remote events into the mix.
Throughout the semester, members continued to work on the two projects in Malawi and Nicaragua, both of which aim to improve access to clean water. The fundraising team is pushing to get the final funds for the Nicaragua and Malawi projects to be able to start implementation this school year! We are currently crowdfunding to be able to start construction for the Nicaragua project before the dry season ends soon.
Full link: here.
Beyond fundraising and working on the projects, club members have come together for activities like advising nights or a fun Kahoot competition to get to know each other better and play some exciting games during the remote semester.
The Nicaragua Project spent the summer and early fall pushing to finish the implementation plan with all of the details of remote implementation for the water tower in Silvio Mayorga. EWB national gave official approval for the project’s request for proposals, and the Request for Proposals were sent to contractors in the Silvio Mayorga area. The team, led by project leads Shruti Krishnamachari and Sophie Impellitteri, have been continuously meeting and going through drafts of the implementation plan, as well as evaluating contractor proposals. We are very excited to announce that construction will begin in January!
The Malawi team is also looking into remote implementation to continue their work to provide clean water to schools in Solomoni. They recently heard back from the community, the government and NGO the chapter is partnered with that they have installed new classroom blocks and a lab at the school due to damage from heavy rains. The team decided to partner with Fresh Water Project to move forward with remote implementation. Sarah Dawson has recently been chosen as a new project lead, along with Elsa Rohm. Despite the circumstances of COVID-19, our work must go on and we are committed to doing so.