Northern Uganda’s West Nile region experienced a civil war from 1979 to 1994 which left the region with many social and educational challenges. Since then, the region has experienced massive population growth due to refugees immigrating to the region from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, creating the second largest refugee camp in the world estimated at 270,000 people. Recognizing that the children and young women of the region would need education, Nested Savings, a Ugandan NGO, initiated a project to create a small library in Yumbe, Uganda to address the educational challenges. However, the current facility lacks the space and tools the community needs to thrive.
Engineers Without Borders USA aims to create a better world through engineering projects. Their local chapter at GW is a collegiate student-run organization that helps to train students across many disciplines to lead, design, and implement sustainable and ethical solutions to problems around the world.
In 2019 Nested Savings reached out to the GW chapter of EWB in order to help them build a learning center and library in the Yumbe region of Uganda. Nested Savings currently owns and curates a small library, no bigger than a small conference room. This small community space has helped literacy and education retention in the area, boosting the education from a third grade level to highschool education. However, this small space serves over 15,000 people. In order to further increase technical skills, help women with children further their education, and provide better books and internet access to the community, Yumbe needs a new facility.
EWB started creating a plan to build a new learning center that not only would help the community boost education, but also be a sustainable building that would further benefit the community by being human-centered. Plans include the use of solar panels to provide dependable access to electricity for the computer lab, and collecting rainwater that accumulates during the wet season of the region. The planned learning center is very ambitious. Upon its completion, it will host the first learning center and first computer lab in northern Uganda as well as the region's second library. Additionally, the building will feature quiet study spaces for children to read and work, a conference room for community meetings, and an early child development center for young mothers.
During August 2023, one of the GW Engineers Without Borders project co-leads, Isabella Elmore, had the opportunity to visit Yumbe in order to survey the site and engage with the local community. Elmore met with two engineers and professional advisors from the United States and Uganda, to review the building plan and assist in surveying the area. Over the course of 10 days the team was able to take aerial photography using a drone, and interview members of the community including religious leaders, educational leaders, and women from the community. Elmore and the engineers were also able to help rebuild the interior of the current library to continue functioning as EWB fundraises for the final project.
In order to make sure the building and its solar panel grid would be self-sufficient and sustainable, EWB partnered with the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), another GW student organization focusing on sustainability and engineering. EWB project co-lead Tamar Todd stated “partnering with AEE has helped us work towards making sustainability and environmental consciousness more of a focus, both for EWB but also for the GW engineering community as a whole”. AEE students Tyler Wyka and Anoosh Tauqir have been helping EWB by calculating the energy that will be gathered from their solar grid, as well as helping optimize the design of the solar grid. Tauqir believes “many sustainability minor students within the school of engineering have seen the intersection between their major and minor. Engineering plays a key role in communities around the world. By employing sustainable designs, our organizations can empower these communities and other students at GW.” AEE has been part of many different projects this past year relating to solar panels including implementing a design at California State University Northridge and helping farmers in Sierra Leone harness solar energy.
AEE’s Sierra Leone project was in collaboration with the Forum of Agriculture, Innovation and Empowerment for Children and Youth (FACIECY), the aim was to reduce the percentage of crops farmers lose at harvest, and to promote renewable energy and sustainable agricultural practices in farming communities by creating a Solar Energy Dryer that will help farmers dry their crops. AEE assisted in fundraising efforts as well as boosting the project’s internet presence in order to attract sponsors. The official launch of the first-ever Solar Energy Dryer in Binkolo village, Bombali District, northern Sierra Leone took place in early June and it was dedicated to GW student and AEE president Tyler Wyka. Wyka says “I was honored that FAIECY appreciated AEE’s contribution enough to name the first drying structure after me, but more so happy to help in what little ways we could from across the ocean. Considering our country’s history of emissions and the role we play in the global political landscape, I strongly believe we should use our resources to aid those most affected by climate change. I feel the Yumbe project has much of the same spirit and I’m excited to make progress on that project as well.”
Now that the plans have been finalized, EWB is hoping to raise $50,000 by mid-November to support a team of GW students who would travel to Yumbe, Uganda to help with construction efforts, as well as create a bond with the community. Funding will also allow for local contractors in Uganda to be hired in an effort to make sure every penny spent on the project is being used to improve the wellbeing of the area and invest in the future of the community. The team’s current goal is to pour the building’s foundation during the next dry season which will be during GW’s 2024 winter break. However in order to do so, they must reach their funding goal which they hope to gain with the help of the GW community or grant funding.
EWB has received funding from the School of Engineering and Applied Science to cover travel, and is now working to raise the remaining funds to cover materials and other costs. Current fundraising initiatives include bake sales, neighborhood canvassing, and a partnership with Panera Bread. To support this project, please CLICK HERE.