By now, I’m sure you’ve heard of Fordham’s Engineers Without Borders for their highly anticipated and much awaited Krispy Kreme Donut Delivery (literally the best time of year). However, not enough people know about the amazing and dedicated work they are committed to doing. EWB at Fordham is a chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA and works closely with the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics at Fordham College Rose Hill. According to their website “the goal of EWB is to implement sustainable engineering projects where lack of resources has imposed an inadequate standard of living” and to “partner with local outreach organizations to offer youths academic enrichment in STEM and related fields.”
With the mission statement “Engineering and Educating for a better world,” EWB definitely has some big expectations to live up to, and they succeed in doing this with their amazing projects. Fordham EWB addresses needs in the local Bronx community through CitySquash, a non-profit after-school program to help motivated young people from disadvantaged homes to fulfill their potential. EWB works with these students by providing extracurricular science enrichment hands-on activities in the Bronx. These activities range from testing pH levels, using cabbage juice to making ice cream, using salt and ice. Fordham EWB members are also paired with Bronx students to provide individual after school tutoring.
EWB not only works within the local community, but they also do extensive work with the Omorio Village in Uganda. EWB has worked to establish, upkeep, and secure a sustainable fish farming system to support the people of the village. The overall plan they have developed is a series of four fish ponds and a hatchery. The fish that are harvested will be sold at larger towns and cities, stimulating the economy of Omorio Village. This chapter’s first ever implementation trip was in March 2016 and they successfully built the first fish pond. They traveled to Uganda with a team of 4 students and a professional engineering mentor to oversee the construction and make sure that the designs were able to be completed successfully. The implementation trip was extremely successful and EWB is now planning on going on an assessment trip in January to choose a site for the next pond and collect the data necessary to make the designs. They will continue to work on the business plan that was made for the first pond by visiting local businesses and finding resources that the people of the village would be able to get themselves. This makes the ponds sustainable by making it possible for the village to obtain any supplies needed for repairs and maintenance in the future. The sustainability of the ponds will also make it possible for the village to continue to build new fish ponds based on EWB’s designs.
EWB’s commitment to both CitySquash and their work with Omorio Village truly shows how EWB lives up to their mission statement and is working to make the community, and the world, a better place.
If you want to donate to Engineers Without Borders to support and help fund their amazing work, click this link! And don’t forget to be on the lookout for the next Krispy Kreme delivery!!