Well - I have been crazy busy since about September trying to prepare for a project site assessment in Western Africa. I am coordinating a team of about 30 engineering students for Engineers Without Borders to develop a sustainable water source for a community of about 10,000 in Enugu State, Nigeria. Six of us are planning to travel for a week at the end of March, as well another 5 or 6 for a couple weeks in May to determine various design parameters and options for a solution that will work for this specific community.
EWB is an interesting organization that attempts to implement sustainable humanitarian engineering solutions through non-sustainable means: flying kids accross the world to solve problems in a completely foreign environment. There are benefits: the students have access to funds the community can't even imagine and the fact that people from another country are willing to help out creates morale within the village to organize themselves to create the changes they wish to see.
Ultimately, I hope to study alternate methods for technology transfer to rural communities, but for now, I'm going to continue working on these projects for at least another year, until I graduate.
