Engineers Without Borders - RTP Chapter

EWB-USA supports community-driven development programs worldwide by collaborating with local partners to design and implement sustainable engineering projects, while creating transformative experiences and responsible leaders. Our vision is a world in which the communities we serve have the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs, and that our members have enriched global perspectives through the innovative professional educational opportunities that the EWB-USA program provides.

About us: Dubbed the "Blueprint Brigade" by Time Magazine, EWB-USA grew from little more than a handful of members in 2002 to over 12,000 today. EWB-USA has over 350 projects in over 45 developing countries around the world including water, renewable energy, sanitation and more. These projects are completed in partnership with local communities and NGOs. EWB-USA helps create a more stable and prosperous world by addressing people's basic human needs by providing necessities such as clean water, power, sanitation and education.

Chapters: EWB members get involved by joining one of over 250 geographically-based chapters. Chapters are the foundation of the organization. They serve as the primary meeting place for members, functioning as a forum for members to plan projects and carry out EWB-USA’s mission. EWB-USA chapters are comprised of both engineers and non-engineers alike. The group welcomes students and professionals from all trades, including: public health, anthropology, geology, business, communications, and graphic design.

How we work: EWB-USA partners with developing communities in over 45 countries across the world. Through its projects, EWB-USA provides innovative professional educational opportunities that provide a global perspective. Each chapter makes at least a five-year commitment to a partnering community. With the community's input, the chapter designs and implements low-cost, small-scale, replicable and sustainable engineering solutions to problems identified by the community. This includes water, sanitation, and renewable energy. EWB-USA members train local community members and local NGO's to successfully monitor and maintain the projects.

Projects: EWB’s unique grassroots approach requires that all program proposals come directly from the communities themselves. This increases the likelihood of success by ensuring that the needs addressed are being identified and driven by the community. Every program begins with an assessment trip where the chapter performs a community needs assessment and works with the community to identify their priorities. During the following years the chapter returns to perform further assessment, implementation, training, and monitoring and evaluation trips. Throughout the program community members receive training on the maintenance and operation of their infrastructure and a financial mechanism is established to ensure long term economic sustainability.

Funding opportunity: Currently, the EWB-RTP chapter is working on a sustainable water project in the town of Waspam Nicaragua. The Region around Waspam is very remote and underdeveloped. While some basic infrastructure is established, much of it is in disrepair or unusable. The most direct goal of this project is to provide a reliable source of safe drinking water, and to further basic sanitation and hygiene education in the area. The next phase of the project will be one of continued relationship building and pilot scale water collection improvements. The key to making this project sustainable is to empower the people of these communities to develop, implement and maintain long term solutions to water problems and general sanitation. The requested funding from supporters will be used to purchase materials used for the well repair, install at least one ceramic filtration system and provide general hygiene and sanitation materials for the community. Any donors to this project will be recognized in our project marketing materials and in other fund raising efforts.