Next General Chapter Meeting:
Wednesday, October 11th
The EWB-USA Central Houston Chapter meets the second Wednesday of every
month. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, October 11th at
7:00pm at Rice University in Room 253 of the
Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, which is Building 46 on the map.
Agenda:
7:00 to 7:30 pm: The El Salvador Phase 3 Team will
describe their recent trip to Tiembla Tierra and Santa Carlota to assess
the feasibility of constructing a sewer system.
7:30 to 7:45 pm: Chapter Updates
7:45 to 9:00 pm: Breakout sessions:
The India Reconstruction team will continue work on the rainwater
catchment design and composting latrine options for the Housing project
El Salvador Phase 1 and II (well and wall) will meet to discuss final
preparations for retaining wall construction..
El Salvador Phase III (sewer system) will discuss the project's forward
plan.
New Participants interested in getting involved will learn more about
the organization.
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WANTED:
Structural
Engineer to Mentor Student Project
The Rice Univ. student chapter of Engineers
Without Borders is seeking a mentor for their health clinic project in
Nicaragua.
Qualifications: Professional Structural/Architectural
Engineering or similar experience.
Required commitment: Attend two hour meetings once
every 3 weeks.
Project: Constructing a 3-4 room health clinic in
Nicaragua , providing clean water and electricity, and trying to explore
using innovative, sustainable materials.
Background: The team has a history of success in this
Nicaraguan village. On their last trip they complete all tasks as planned
which included: a rainwater catchment system, a pump to take water from a
well to the church and purified with a biosand filter, and potters for
peace filters for the houses.
Contact: Alex Cuclis at 281-364-4049, acuclis@harc.edu or
Deepa Panchang, panchang@rice.edu
Team
Lead for Composting Latrines Project in India
The team lead for the composting latrine project in India is leaving
Houston next month.
Qualifications: Self-motivated professional, sanitation
knowledge is a plus.
Required Commitment: 2-10 hours/week
Project: Many of the villages throughout the coastal
areas impacted by the tsunami in 2004 do not have adequate sanitation
facilities. There is presently an urgent need for latrines to be
implemented at these locations. EWB-Central Houston project team
members are working on design of composting latrines for one of the
villages and will develop educational programs to help build and maintain
them.
Contact: Tejal Gholkar at tejal_gholkar@urscorp.com
,or AnnMarie at aspexet@gmail.com
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Letter from the Community:
Here's an excerpt from a letter sent by Marla Martinez, a resident
of Colonia Esmeralda where we're drilling a well and constructing the
retaining wall:
"The people of
Colonia Esmeralda are very emotional and have the desire to work, the
desire to walk, and the desire to construct, not only a wall or a well;
even more to harvest a friendship and enormous gratitude for you and your
companions. Thank you immensely, Sara, Tim, Brian. Now, there
exist no limits, no distances, no borders; there only exist strong and
lasting ties between Colonia Esmeralda and Engineers
Without Borders."
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El SALVADOR
Phase III: Tiembla Tierra and Santa Carlota
Sanitation System: Two weeks ago, seven members of
EWB-Central Houston travelled to San Salvador to look at the feasibility of
a sanitation project. The trip was very successful in that they gathered a
significant amount of information. If this project is to be successfully
implemented, it will require additional help from engineers with experience in the sanitation or
construction fields. If you are interested in learning more about
this project and helping out please meet for the breakout session after the
general meeting.
Phase I and II: Colonia
Esmeralda
Community Well: Living Waters has obtained a well
drilling rig that can complete the unfinished well they began for us in
July. They are working plans to ship the rig to El Salvador and will
begin drilling again this spring at 1/4 the cost of other drilling
contractors.
Retaining Wall: We have made preparations to
begin construction this winter. A municipal engineer is obtaining a
construction permit, the construction manager is reviewing the drawings,
and we're working on one final cost estimate.
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What is Engineers
Without Borders-USA?
EWB-USA partners with
developing communities to improve their quality of life through the
implementation of environmentally sustainable, equitable, and economical
engineering projects while developing internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.
Get Involved!
The Central Houston
chapter of Engineers
Without Borders was founded in February, 2005 In the last year and a half,
the chapter has grown from two engineers
to approximately 40 active participants.
We are succeeding in creating
a chapter that is diverse in age, experience, and engineering disciplines.
Our team members live all over the city, including Cypress, the
Woodlands, Sugarland, Clear Lake, and Galveston. If you would like to join
our team, please let us know.
There are plenty of ways to
get involved!
Fundraising
Committee: In our first year of fundraising, we raised $35,000,
which is excellent! Let's double this amount next year. Interested in
helping? Join our Fundraising Committee. Contact: Shalin Mody
Outreach Committee: Since
we started the chapter in Feb, '05, we gave 20 presentations, staffed 4
charity fairs, hosted 3 Professional Developement Seminars, and 2
workshops. Help us spread the word about EWB and plan our next seminars.
Contact: Dave Rubin
Project Engineering
– Volunteer as a project engineer on our current projects. A listing of
engineering needs can be found here.
Technical Reviewer
– If you can't commit to working on a project, but can spend a few hours a
month reviewing technical designs, let us know. We're starting to form the
South Central Technical Advisory Committee.
Sponsorship
– Contact Sara Beck
about corporate sponsorship opportunities.
Professional
Development Seminars – Attend or present at our seminars,
which are designed to help Professional Engineers
(PEs) obtain required professional development credit. Contact: Dave Rubin
Workshops and
Training Programs – Are you an expert in a particular
field? Give a workshop on a sustainable engineering topic to teach local
engineering students and professionals. Contact: Dave Rubin
Graphic Arts–
Apply your right brain to help us create chapter-specific promotional
materials. Contact Sara
Beck
Join EWB-USA!
Engineers Without Borders (EWB-USA) and EWB-Central Houston are looking
for people who are committed to improving the quality of lives of those in
disadvantaged communities. Annual membership cost is only $100, and chapter
meetings are free. Click here for more information and to join EWB-USA today!
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INDIA
Rainwater Catchment
and Sanitation Project:
We are working on both
designing and fundraising for the India rainwater catchment and
latrines project. These project are part of a larger effort to redesign the
housing for an entire community in India Fundraising presentations to
Rotary clubs are underway, and the Central Houston chapter has set a goal
of $20,000 to contribute to the $100,000 total project cost, the rest will
be from the other EWB chapters involved with the project. Guo Pin Fuan is
leading up the project design team for the rainwater catchment system.
Tejal Gholkar is leading the design team for the latrines project; however,
he is leaving Houston and we are searching for a new team lead.
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Upcoming Events
Next Professional Development Seminar TBD
The 2007 EWB-USA International Conference is scheduled
for April 12, 13 & 14, 2007, to be held at the University of
Massachusetts in Amherst, MA.
DONATE!
Like all EWB projects, our projects are completely financed by
donations. All donations are tax deductible. You may contribute mail or use
the internet at your convenience.
To donate by internet, go here.
To donate by check or money order:
Address to EWB-USA, but write "Central Houston
Professionals" in the memo field. Send your donation to:
Engineers without Borders
– USA
1880 Industrial Circle, Suite B-3
Longmont, Colorado 80026
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New
Website
Many thanks to Ubiquitous Media and
AnnMarie Spexet for redoing our website. Check it out! www.ewbhouston.org
New Officers
As the year comes to a close,
it't time to elect next year's officers. The positions we elect are
President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. We have specific vacancies
for President and Secretary. Sara Beck needs to concentrate on her Master's
Degree and Tejal Gholkar is moving to Paris. Please consider stepping up to
the plate and getting involved! Our chapter is making a significant impact
and we need your help! We will plan to take nominations in November and
elect the officers in December.
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Questions?
If you have a question or would like to find out how you can volunteer
with EWB-USA, contact any member of our current Executive Board.
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