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