EWB-Case is working on an international engineering service project in conjunction with Case- DRIVE. Case-DRIVE, the “Dominican Republic Initiative for Volunteer Experiences,” is a collaborative effort of nearly all colleges of the University to provide service-learning opportunities for students in the Dominican Republic .
Robert Mullen, Chair of the Civil Engineering Department and Case-DRIVE representative for the Case School of Engineering, and Katherine Schaad, Project Coordinator for EWB-Case, traveled to the Dominican Republic Sunday, October 17th through Saturday the 23 rd to identify possible projects for EWB-Case. Based on the information gathered, EWB-Case plans to implement its first international project in Guaricano, a community in Santo Domingo , the capital of the Dominican Republic .
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Over the past few years, the Case School of Medicine has been working with a non-profit organization, The Dominican Federation of People's Organizations (FEDOPO), to establish a medical clinic in the impoverished community of Guaricano. The people of Guaricano and the clinic get their water from a cistern near the clinic. The pumps are set up to run by electricity from the power grid, but the lack of infrastructure in the Dominican Republic often results in a lack of electricity for extended periods of time. When funds are available, FEDOPO buys diesel fuel for a generator to run the pumps. Diesel fuel costs about $15 a day (for about five gallons), more than a nurse at the medical clinic earns. When FEDOPO lacks sufficient funds to purchase diesel fuel, the community and clinic go without clean water.
EWB-Case plans to develop a more dependable, sustainable energy source for the water supply system. The EWB-Case advisor, Professor Sreenath, will be working with EWB-Case as the mentor for this project and Professor Mullen will work with EWB-Case as the engineering faculty Case-DRIVE representative. With their guidance, EWB-Case intends to design and install a solar system to provide a reliable energy source for water supply while also exploring the possibilities of improving the efficiency of the pumps and the community's quality of water. EWB-Case plans to include faculty and professionals as part of the project's design team to ensure that a high-quality solar-water system is designed. When the design is complete, the EWB-USA Technical Advisory Committee will review the design as a final check.
EWB-Case will send two students to the Dominican Republic during Spring Break to gather more information for this project. EWB-Case hopes to implement this project sometime this summer. During the spring break trip, other students involved with Case-DRIVE will be traveling with EWB students to contribute to this and other service-learning projects in Santo Domingo . This group will include Spanish students who will spend some time with EWB members to act as translators. EWB may work with social work students in the future to educate the community on the benefits of solar energy and how to use and maintain the solar-water system. The diversity of this group will add to the quality of the EWB project and optimize the learning experience for EWB members as they learn to work with students from different academic backgrounds. Through this project, students will not only learn how to design and build a solar-water system, but also experience another culture and languages.
The community of Guaricano will also benefit greatly from this project. Daily access to water is vital to the health of individuals within the community. A reliable source of energy for the water supply system will ensure a constant water supply for the clinic, improving the services they provide to the local community. FEDOPO will be able to use money otherwise spent on diesel fuel for much-needed resources for the medical clinic.
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