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Video Closed Captions

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NICOLE BUSINELLI: Princeton
University's chapter of

Engineers Without Borders
started a new program in

Samne, Peru this year.

Last summer, we visited the
community and talked to the

people in the town and asked
them what their priorities

were to try to decide what our
first project would be.

And while we were here, we got
approached by some people in

La Pitajaya, which is
a settlement on the

outskirts of Samne.

Currently, they drink from the
Rio Moche, which is a river

nearby that's contaminated with
mining waste and other

contaminants.

So we decided that our first
project in Samne, Peru would

be a potable water system for
the community of La Pitajaya.

DANIEL WRIGHT: I have some
experience working in water

and sanitation projects
in Latin America.

And I could tell from the first
minute of the first

meeting that Pitajaya was going
to be a really good

community to work with.

They were really excited about
the project and very motivated

to work, very organized, and had
a very clear idea of the

importance of having clean
water, both for themselves and

for their children.

EMILY MODER: So we were all
really excited to come back to

Samne for a second time and see
all of our old friends,

and also have a real project
in mind that we

were working towards.

So our goal was to take samples
and look at the area

to assess the feasibility of the
capturing of all the water

in the source.

And then walk the line that we
will transport the water with.

And take the GPS coordinates and
the altitude measurements

to assess the feasibility
of each possible system.

And then do water tests on
those different sources.

DANIEL WRIGHT: From an
engineering perspective, the

project should be very viable
because we'll be able to build

a gravity-fed water system,
which, compared to other

alternatives such as pumps, the
gravity-fed system is much

easier to maintain.

And the community should be able
to handle all the repairs

and everything like that on
their own once we've finished

with the construction.

ANDRES PARRADO: The opportunity
that we've had

coming to Samne has been
an incredible one.

We've been able to experience
all the

components of the project.

The community aspect, with the
amazing people of Samne who

really want to make this
project happen.

The technical challenges
trying to

look for the sources.

The finances of it.

When it all comes together, we
have a truly amazing project

like the Peru project.

NIHAR MADHAVAN: Coming here to
Peru has really changed my

perspective on what we do back
home can do for others.

And I've just really felt that
I've grown a lot because of

working on this.

I'm really excited for the work
that we're going to do

for this project.

And I'm really looking forward
to this summer.

I know it's going to be great.

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