Engineers Without Borders (EWB-UW) and the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Washington are collaborating in a mission to support communities in the developing world. For the past four years, EWB-UW has been dedicated to help communities in Bolivia, Suriname and Gambia. This past September Claudia De La Via and Lady De La Via extended their hand to two communities in Bolivia, Yanaco Grande and Yanaco Chico. Claudia worked on improving a potable water system for Yanayo Grande, while Lady worked on improving an irrigation system for the neighboring community, Yanayo Chico.
EWB-UW was the first recipient for an American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) grant to implement this project reflecting the support from the Chemical Engineering community. As a result co-authors, Claudia and Lady, Chemical Engineering undergrads, will be presenting their experience for the project implementation at the AIChE- National Student Conference in Nashville. The project also benefited from the volunteer work of other students. Recent graduate Dave Chase was a coordinator for UW Husky parking volunteers raising funds for the EWB chapter. Chemical Engineering students, Alex Lindsay and Elaine Chao, have held officer positions, membership director and secretary respectively. In addition, this year Professor Larry Ricker joined EWB-UW as a faculty mentor. Prof. Ricker mentors students in a variety of tasks from fundraising to design.
The commitment of students like Claudia and Lady teaches us how to combine engineering education with societal service. Students in EWB-UW are pioneers in community service and the Chemical Engineering Department is really proud of their effort. Claudia and Lady experienced the joy of helping these communities in Bolivia and witnessed the work of the whole chapter come to live. Though the communities benefited from the work done by the students and mentors, "there was no greater reward than that given to the students" as Claudia and Lady stated. The EWB-UW students developed deep friendships with the communities and are passionate to continue this work. It is in this manner that the University of Washington Chemical Engineering Department and EWB-UW have touched the lives of people many miles away.