Project Completed

(This one I wrote on July 7th, but I ran out of time on the computer so I am just putting it up now).

The project has finally finished sucessfully. We ran into some minor issues along the way, but everything is up and running. Here are some details about how everything progressed (with more detail than some of you may care to know) :

After a lot of hard work at the beginning of last week, we got all the pipes laid in the ground. We put up the solar panels on Monday, and we placed the pump in the well on Tuesday night. Unfortunately when we pumped water on Wednesday, it was extremely discolored, odorous, and very high in iron (>5 ppm and the EPA standard is <0.3).>

Although our water was unclean, we were still able to check our pipe connections to make sure we didn't have any leaks. Not only did we find six or seven leaks in our system that needed attention, but a major elbow in our distribution system burst which caused water to flood the trench the students had dug. Since plumbing can be a tedious and difficult job (especially when you have over 1000 ft of pipe), we called in a professional who had all the proper equipment. We eventually got the pipes fixed, but we still faced the issue of water quality.

Luckily over time the water quality got better. The iron content continued to decrease, and the bacteria became less and less. By the time we left, our iron content was under the 0.3 ppm required by the EPA, and we had absolutely no fecal coliform bacteria in the water sample. Overall, the project was a huge success and we managed to finish about three days early.

 The success and shortened timeframe can be attributed to the hard work put in by the team throughout the school year.  

Technical aspects aside, I had an incredible two weeks at the school. The students, staff, and administration were all extremely inviting and very interested in the project. I got to know some of the students fairly well. Despite some of their tragic circumstances, they are highly motivated, happy individuals who have some serious goals.  Hopefully things fall into place for then and they are able to become successful and bring a new generation of hope and change to Uganda.

Hope Integrated Academy

(This Post is from last Sunday, June 28th. The power went out when I was half way done with it and this is the first time I have been on since then.)

We finally arrived at the school. We got in last Saturday and have been working hard for the last week. The work is coming along very well thanks to the efforts of the first group. We have the trenches dug, pipes laid, and are just waiting to install the pump which is happening on Tuesday. We are hoping to be done with everything by Friday or Saturday (a few days ahead of schedule which is miraculous for this type of work).

We overlapped with the first group by about five days which made about 14 of us total. The first group left on Wednesday or Thursday (it's hard to keep track) which was sad because we had a lot of fun together. As far as working goes, our days pretty much consist of waking up around sunrise, working for 8-10 hours with some breaks in there, and having a lot of fun at night. We had a party when the first group left, and we also have had parties the last two nights. A bunch of students and professionals were at the school/house for a conference put on by Uganda Rural Fund. We got to know some of the university students from Kampala, and we are hoping to meet up with them before we fly out of Uganda.

Safari

Hello again,

So today we finally nailed down our plans. We spent the day visiting safari companies, and we decided we are taking a three day/two night safari. We are first going to the Ngorongoro Crater for a night. Then we are heading to the Sarengeti for another night. We are being dropped off at the western most gate of the park Thursday afternoon, and taking a bus down to Mwanza. We decided to take a ferry across Lake Victoria and a bus up to Masaka/the school instead of taking a bus all the way through Kenya over to Kampala. This all means I will be out of touch for the next fives days or so, but I am getting really excited for our safari and eventually getting to the school!

Arusha has been a great city. We have spent the last two days wandering the streets and hanging out. So far I have noticed one major difference about this city and cities in the United States. People in both Zanzibar and Arusha seems to rely on one another a lot more than people in America do. People in the States are encouraged to be strongly independent and fiercely competitive, and I feel like the opposite is true over here. Community comes before the individual. For example, all the shop owners and street vendors help each other out and recommend one another. Whenever we have had a question, we are always welcomed with a warm and true response. Arusha has also felt very safe, and I attribute that to a general honesty in everyone's actions and emotions. People are definitely not nearly as guarded and unpredictable here. All in all I have been impressed with my experiences in Tanzania.

I also have to mention that the Lion King has already taught me a little bit of Swahili. For example, Hakuna matata means "no worries" (I am embarassed to say I had to ask about this one despite knowing and loving the song). Other examples include Simba meaning lion, Rafiki being friend, Safari means journey, ect. I am sure there are tons I am forgetting so I am excited to go back and watch it again (and play the Sega Genesis game, of course).

We are hoping to arrive at the school on Friday or Saturday. I will keep you updated once I arrive on site.

Until Later,

Eric

Arusha

Hello everyone,

I have arrived in Arusha from Zanzibar. We went to the beach, and we went on a spice tour. I learned all about the process involved in growing cloves, pepper, nutmeg, ginger, ect. Zanzibar is a beautiful island which I recommend to anyone traveling to the region.

Yesterday we took the ferry to Dar Es Salaam, and a bus from Dar to Arusha. The bus ride and process involved in gathering bus tickets was quite entertaining. We decided to book our tickets for the bus before we left for Zanzibar on the 10th. A couple of guys I am traveling with went to a ticket office and booked "guaranteed" tickets on an "express" bus that would take eight hours to get from Dar to Arusha. Our first mistake is we payed about twice as much as we should have for a typical bus ticket; however, the money did include a taxi ride to the bus park on the other side 0f town. Once we got the the bus park though, we discovered we, in fact, did not have guaranteed tickets. What's more, it was not an express bus. We eventually got four seats together on a pretty run-down bus that ended up taking about eleven hours. (I made some changes to this... I apparently embellished the story a little bit initially, but it was still pretty entertaining though).

We definitely got conned by people taking advantage of amateur American tourists. Nonetheless, it is a good story and the bus ride was a fun experience. Since tone is hard to convey through text, I should explicitly say I found the whole ordeal pretty humorous and enjoyed the bus ride. In the end we ended up to our desired destination safely so it was not a big deal. This story also comes with a disclaimer: the people who scam tourists around this region are the exception to the rule. They are basically like a sleazy used car salesmen who is always out looking for the suckers (which turned out to be us). Almost everyone has been very generous, helpful, and kind.

Once we settle in Arusha we are planning to take a two day safari and possibly climb Mt. Meru. We hope to figure out specifics tonight or tomorrow morning. I will keep you all posted as the trip progresses. I hope everyone is doing well!

Eric

Project Blog

If you want to get updates on the project itself, check out http://ewb-umnuganda2009.blogspot.com/

I will be arriving on the project site on June 21st or 22nd.

Hello everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know I arrived safely in Tanzania. We left the morning of the 8th, flew to Newark, Amsterdam, Kilimanjaro, and finally Dar Es Salam. It was a 26 hour proces, but all in all not too bad.

Today we took a ferry to Zanzibar. Zanzibar is an incredible place that is a nice mix of African, Indian, and Arabian influeces. It is very clean, and the people have been extremely friendly and helpful. It has been a great place to spend my 23rd birthday! We do not have any major plans for the next few days, but we will probably take some tours of the island and hit up the beaches.

Since the last few days have been so busy and overhwhelming, I do not have a whole lot more to say. I am looking forward to relaxing and decompressing over the next few days to let everything all sink in. I hope to update again one more time before leaving Zanzibar.

Eric

Introduction

For those of you who do not know, I am traveling to East Africa from June 8^th to July 8^th.  I will be traveling around Tanzania with three friends for the first two weeks, and I will be in Uganda for the remainder of the trip.  The main reason I am going to be in the region is for the implementation of a water supply and distribution project at Hope Integrated Academy.

The project has been organized through the University of Minnesota chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB-UMN).  Engineers Without Borders is a national organization that has chapters at universities across the nation.   As explained by the mission statement, "Engineers Without Borders – USA supports community-driven development programs worldwide through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while fostering responsible leadership."  I was actively involved with the EWB chapter at Colorado State University, and I have been working with the Uganda project team at the University of Minnesota over the last academic year.

Hope Integrated Academy (HIA) was started in January of 2006 by the Uganda Rural Fund (URF) to provide quality education to children in rural Uganda, especially the children who have been affected by the AIDS tragedy in the region. Over one hundred students are currently enrolled at the school, and plans for expansion include the construction of dormitories to house up to 500 students.  The school is located near the small village of Kyetume, Uganda, approximately 35 kilometers from Masaka on the Masaka-Mbarara road.   

The University of Minnesota chapter of Engineers Without Borders has been working with URF and HIA since January of 2007.  During the summer of 2008, EWB-UMN and URF completed a rainwater harvesting system that provided drinking water for the students at the school.  Since September we have been designing a system to provide drinking, cooking, and washing water (~4 gallons per person per day) for up to 500 students. The system is relatively simple and includes a well, a solar powered pump, a storage tank, and two water taps.  As the school continues to grow, simple modifications will made to the system to accommodate for the changing needs of the school.

Me and three other students are leaving Minneapolis tomorrow morning, and we arrive in Dar Es Salam in Tanzania the night of the 9th.  We will be spending a lot of time in airports or on airplanes over the next few days, but we are heading to Zanzibar on the 10th for some relaxation on the Indian Ocean.  I should have relatively good access to the Internet while traveling, and I hope to provide an update every four or five days to let friends and family know how my trip is going.   

Until Later,

Eric