Current Programs

Guatemala Program
Est. 2013

The Guatemala program is working in the municipality of Joyabaj, which is located in the mountainous western highland region of Guatemala, about 7 hours Northwest of Guatemala City. The community of Zapote has never had a steady, reliable source of non-contaminated water. A few members of Zapote are on another system that is controlled by neighboring communities, allowing them little to no access to clean water. Many others do not have any source of water at all. We are allowing for the community of Zapote to take ownership of their water resources, providing more than 600 people with access to clean, non-contaminated water. In the past, we have completed a water system like this one (Azucenas, 2015), as well as a large pedestrian suspension bridge (Rio Lindo, 2017).

Ecuador Program
​Est. 2014

The Ecuador project is centered in the coastal communities of Tabuga and Camarones.

Tabuga
Currently, children in Tabuga commute to school by walking on a narrow shoulder along one of Ecuador’s main coastal highways. The Ecuador program is working to construct a bridge over a ravine that separates the school and the community, providing students with a safe alternate route. Currently, the team is completing final design drawings and fundraising through grants and corporate sponsorships.
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​Camarones
Camarones is home to 500 individuals and lacks reliable access to clean drinking water. The Ecuador program is designing a water filtration and distribution system that will provide residents with potable water year round. Currently, the remote area lacks access to a healthy reliable water source, forcing residents to drink water from a nearby river. After our trip in August 2019, the chapter now has the necessary data and community support to move forward with a final system design

Uganda Program
Est. 2015

The Uganda project is working in the community of Lweza, a village that is just south of the capital city of Kampala. We are working with the organization Village Health Project to provide the citizens of Lweza with clean water. Currently, the two main water sources in the community are contaminated with E. Coli and other harmful pathogens. In the summer of 2017, we drilled and struck groundwater in Lweza. We are currently designing for an implementation trip, when we will install the water system to clean and pipe water to the primary school.

Puerto Rico Program
​Est. 2018

The Puerto Rico program is working with the children's shelter, Hogar Albergue para Niños Jesús de Nazaret, to bring solar-powered electricity to the children. The Hogar is a home that offers food, transportation, education, social, and psychological services to children who are victims of abuse and/or neglect.
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In 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico causing island-wide damage and electricity prices to skyrocket. The Hogar is currently paying around $800-$1000 a month on electricity. Also, due to the recent earthquakes, rolling blackouts are frequently occurring, causing electricity to be very unreliable. The new 25 kW solar voltaic system will be hurricane resistant, efficient, and more reliable than municipal electricity. Our goal is to lessen their monthly utility bill and eventually enable them to sell back to the grid.

Past Programs

Haiti Program
2002-2012

The Haiti Program operated in Bayonnais, a region in the northern mountains of Haiti home to almost 80,000 people. In collaboration with EWB-SF (the San Francisco Professional Chapter of EWB), and the community group OFCB (Organization of the Christian Force of Bayonnais) , the Haiti project worked to provide solutions to local goals such as healthcare, crop yield improvements, and access to markets. During the project lifetime, EWB constructed a three-span vehicular bridge over a large river, installed a photovoltaic solar power system, and built a irrigation canal crossing.

El Salvador Program
​2005-2013

The El Salvador Program teamed up with Rotary International to construct a wastewater collection system in two communities in El Salvador. Along with watewater collection, EWB – El Salvador emphasized educational workshops to teach local children and community members basic sanitation and health practices, as well as water testing to assess the pathogens that threaten the health of community members.

Kenya Program
​2007-2012

The Kenya Program worked in Orongo – a rural farming community located off the shores of Lake Victoria and about 10 minutes from Kisumu. The two most recent projects worked on by the Kenya project are a biosand filter project/business and an irrigation project. The biosand filter project/business is meant to provide clean household drinking water to the community and an entrepreneurial opportunity for 3 young, motivated members of the community. The irrigation project aims to pump water from the lake to the farms and increase the crop output during the dry season. This is important for the community because most of the farmers yield just enough crops to feed their families and could use another growing season to provide additional income.

Rwanda Program
​2009-2013

The Rwanda Program worked to bring water to the community of Gashonyi, including the site of a health clinic which was recently constructed.  Plans for EWB-Rwanda’s final implementation trip included finishing repairs on a pipeline to bring water to the new health center as well as the town center, and developing other spring sources in the area to run to the health center/town center in addition to the existing pipeline.