EWB-UMN in Uganda: The Hope Integrated Academy Project
Assesment
In the summer of 2007, two students from EWB-UMN, two from EWB-VTech, along with a professional mentor, traveled to the newly constructed Hope Integrated Academy in Uganda’s Masaka District to perform the project assessment. While in country, the assessment team met with various groups, ranging from local villagers to national government officials, amassing useful project data and information. A site survey of the area was performed as well as a village wide health assessment to address the needs of the local community.
EWB-UMN has partnered with EWB Virginia Tech on this project. EWB-VTech will be designing a sustainable energy system for the Hope Integrated Academy. The Implimintation trip date has been set for June, 2008. EWB-UMN will be traveling with EWB Virginia Tech members, and professional engineering mentors.
Design
Upon return, a team of student engineers and professional mentors was formed to begin an evaluation and design addressing the three project objectives; a sustainable water source, healthy adequate sanitation, and consistent reliable electricity.
Current Progress UMN
Water System
The Hope Integrated Academy is located in an area of Uganda that lacks significant available groundwater, yet the area experiences two major rainy seasons per year. Given the annual rainfall data and the large collection area afforded by the academy building, the EWB-UMN design team has chosen to implement a rainwater harvesting system for the Hope Integrated Academy. Final sizing is currently underway for the collection and storage systems and an optimal water treatment method is being sought out.
Sanitary
The new vocational school plans to house 500 students when fully operational. This poses serious sanitary issues for the school grounds. The EWB-UMN design team has chosen to implement a dry composting eco-sanitation design, a similar method to that introduced to EWB-UMN by Sustainable Integrated Organic Livelihoods (SOIL) currently working in Haiti. This design will adequately serve the vocational school while providing soil fertility through safe composting practices.
VTech
Electrical
Uganda is a country that receives most of its electricity via hydropower damns located on the River Nile; however, the country’s electrical infrastructure is deteriorating and often unreliable. If the Hope Integrated Academy is to run an efficient school, offering computer related vocational studies, reliable electricity is a must. The EWB-VTech team is completing their design of a solar powered battery backup system. The system will consist of 8 solar panels and a battery bank which will automatically supplement the unreliable power the school receives from the national grid.
Whats Next?
By April of 2008, the project team will submit its designs to the EWB Technical Advisory Committee for approval. Once the project is finalized, the implementation trip will be planned for the summer of 2008. Students from both schools, along with professional mentors will travel to Uganda to work with local laborers to implement the systems at the Hope Integrated Academy. Once the three systems are up and running, the groups will educate the people of the community on the operations of the systems, which have been designed with local resource considerations, thus creating a sustainable solution that can be locally maintained. With the arrival of these three key systems, the Uganda Rural Fund will be able to open the doors of the Hope Integrated Academy and begin providing primary education to children, as well as vocational skills to the people of the Mulobere community and the Masaka region.
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