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OVERVIEW
In February 2007, Engineers Without Borders at the University of Minnesota initiated partnership with Uganda Rural Fund. This young non-profit, working to provide a trajectory of transformation for rural disadvantaged communities throughout Uganda, shared with us the current need for potable water and ecological sanitation at their new school called the Hope Integrated Academy. Without these basic systems in place, the school would not be able to provide the education, and consequently access to health, livelihood, and improved quality of life, to the students and surrounding community of Mulobere. To address the need for water and sanitation, a team of students and professional engineers from the U of M and local engineering companies immediately began developing solutions.
ASSESSMENT
Two students and a professional mentor traveled to the project site in Uganda in August 2007 to collect assessment information necessary to initiate the design phase. The engineering volunteers discovered surface water that was severely contaminated with bacteria. They also encountered inadequate, unhygienic pit latrines without hand washing stations at the school. When the assessment was complete, our entire project team set to work to expand our expertise in low-tech solutions that would address Hope Academy’s needs.
Throughout the 2007-2008 school year our interdisciplinary team of engineering students and professionals conceptualized designs that would meet the needs of the school. During the process, we benefited by developing skills in project management, leadership, and teamwork. We researched sustainable technologies, and designed the systems that we would install and we also gained technical knowledge in appropriate water and sanitation solutions commonly applied in developing nations. Once all the design work had been completed and $38,000 had been raised by our team for construction and airfare, the implementation phase, the most difficult and rewarding part of the project, was initiated.
IMPLEMENTATION
In June 2008, six engineering students and two professional engineers traveled to Mulobere, Uganda to construct our designs for rainwater harvesting and dry composting toilets. After four challenging weeks of sleeping on the floor of the school while working sunrise to sunset, we installed both systems successfully. The water system consisted of five main components including collection, filtration, conveyance, storage, and distribution. We assembled gutters to collect rainwater from the roof and a first flush system to remove solids and sediments that had collected on the roof. To transfer the water to the rear of the school building, conveying pipes were erected, which brought the water into four 24,000 L water tanks for storage. Finally, we installed two distribution systems to deliver the water to the students. If water is conserved during the rainy seasons, the system will provide the current student body with approximately 20 L per day through the dry seasons. 
The dry composting sanitation structure consisted of two elevated stalls, one for males and one for females, in one of the most robust buildings we saw in during our time in rural Uganda. This system utilized diverting toilets to collect solid wastes for composting in contained compartments while distributing liquid wastes to a leaching system in a nearby coffee field. In addition, rainwater harvesting was also installed on the roof of the toilet structure in order to provide hand washing water to the students via a 2,000 L polytank at the side of the building. As a result of this system, the entire student body now has access to an improved ecological, hygienic toilet system.
Overall, during the implementation we collectively worked over 3,000 hours with local builders and diggers. We used 16,500 pounds of cement in a total of 40 cubic meters of concrete and mortar. We laid 4200 feet of reinforcing steel in the concrete and installed 1000 feet of conveyance and distribution pipe. The work was intense to say the least. Following implementation of the work, we trained the directors of Uganda Rural Fund and the Hope Integrated Academy, and the students in the use of the systems in order to sustainably maintain the projects. 
While the scale of the project was quite large, so was the incredible amount we learned and experienced. In a nation known for poverty, illness, gender inequality, and government corruption, our team was forced to adapt while working in an adverse foreign environment. We learned from Uganda Rural Fund’s directors the importance of effective cross-cultural communication and how to have patience for the leisurely pace of “African time”. With the help of our professional mentors we developed our engineering skills and management abilities. With hands on field engineering experience, we discovered how to act as globally responsible engineers, learning to make quick and definite decisions that had real impacts on the lives of people in Mulobere. We discovered the importance of transferring our engineering background to applications in outreach. We learned how to talk down the Mzungu (white man’s) prices and how to barter with laborers. We formed close friendships within our engineering team. We were welcomed into the lives of the students and the Waliggo family with warm smiles and open arms.
Most importantly, we encountered Ugandan life with both its overwhelming hardships and inspiring joys. We saw the difficulty that so many Ugandans face in their daily lives. At the same time, we expereinced the strength Ugandans have for dealing with what is negative and the appreciation they have for what is positive. This methodology of coping with hardship may be complex, but it seems that in Uganda, hardship is common and people are commonly happy. The water and sanitation project at the Hope Integrated Academy has changed the lives of the engineering volunteers and of the students at Hope.
It was an honor to work with URF and at Hope Academy and this experience has only reinforced our devotion to international sustainable development work in disadvantaged communities. We hope the future phases of projects that partner EWB-UMN student teams with Uganda Rural Fund, and with all organizations around the world, are ultimately successful and that many more will benefit from this very significant work.
Future project information:
Hope Academy is now serving as a secondary school for over 60 students, after school program for over 100 students, community library and computer center for all of the surrounding area. While this school is only in its infancy, it is quickly growing and Uganda Rural Fund anticipates the school will be providing education to 500 students, 300 of which will live in dormitories on the campus, within the next two years. In order to serve so many students, even more water is needed and a larger sanitation structure is required. To meet these expanding needs, new project teams at the U of M are now beginning work on the second project phase. This phase will include provision of a groundwater supply at Hope Academy for 500 students, which our EWB project team will design. In addition, we have integrated the Phase II sanitation designs into the civil engineering curriculum by including the project in the capstone senior design course. Four students are now designing a large scale sanitation structure, which will be integrated into EWB’s implementation next summer. Both the water and sanitation projects will be designed to serve a capacity of 500 students.
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