Student Work: Princeton Engineers Without Borders, Kenya

By Jessica Luo, Class of 2015 on March 19, 2015, 12:24 p.m.

In 2014, a Princeton Engineers Without Borders team assessed and implemented a rainwater catchment system at Muchebe Primary School located in Muchebe, Kuria District, Kenya.

In 2012, Swahili lecturer Mahiri Mwita approached Princeton University's chapter of Engineers Without Borders with the idea of starting a project in the Kuria District of Kenya where he grew up. Three years later, a team of Princeton engineering students has helped design and build an award-winning rainwater catchment system there to provide clean, reliable water, and the group plans to build another system this summer.

Partnerships yield global impact for Engineers Without Borders .

When Josh Umansky-Castro joined Engineers Without Borders as a freshman, he traveled to the remote mountain town of La Pitajaya, Peru, to help build and maintain two water distribution systems serving 21 families.

Student Work: Engineers Without Borders, Sierra Leone .

In the summer of 2012, four Princeton students traveled to Koidu, Sierra Leone, looking for a community to partner with for a new Engineers Without Borders project.

Video feature: Engineers Without Borders, Sierra Leone .

A group of four students working with the Princeton chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB-Princeton) were in Sierra Leone last summer to talk with local citizens and leaders about opening a new program. EWB-Princeton will be partnering with the village of Dorma to address a few of the basic needs of the community. The students noted that the village has seen little continual effort for a redevelopment of infrastructure in the postwar decade.

Student work: Engineers Without Borders in La Pitajaya .

In summer 2015, six students from the Princeton chapter of Engineers Without Borders traveled to northern Peru to close out what has been a five-year partnership with the community of La Pitajaya. The students have constructed two water distribution systems for the upper and lower parts of the village, bringing a constant source of clean drinking water to every family.

Student work: 'What’s Science Action? trailer' .

The Science Action video program offers Princeton University students the unique opportunity to independently learn about current research topics in climate science, fusion physics or engineering principles by interviewing faculty members and filming a short video to explain a scientific insight in their own words. This trailer shows excerpts from last year's student team productions, currently posted to the Science Action YouTube page as part of Princeton’s informal online educational outreach. Science Action starts its second year with a kickoff meeting on Sept. 26.

Student work: Engineers Without Borders, Peru .

Seven Princeton students in the Princeton chapter of Engineers Without Borders traveled to Peru in summer 2013 to complete the first phase of a water system in the small mountainous community of La Pitajaya Alta. After six weeks of working with the community members, clean potable water was brought to every family in the community. In summer 2014, the Engineers Without Borders team completed the second part of the water system in La Pitajaya Baja, the lower part of the community.