MALAMULO HOSPITAL CAMPUS, MALAWI

The Malamulo Hospital Campus consists of a hospital, secondary school, college of health sciences and publishing house. About 4000 people live on the campus, and the surrounding community of almost 70,000 utilizes the facilities there. This hospital provides care for patients with HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and pregnancy. The current water system at Malamulo is inadequate for the needs of the campus, and the campus is in danger of being shut down due to poor living conditions. In addition to water needs, the current pump system is inefficient, and breaks down during the frequent electrical outages which occur every day. The main goals of this project are to provide system maintenance training, water usage strategies, and design/build new infrastructure as required to provide sufficient clean water for the Malamulo hospital and campus.

Seven members of EWB-LA went on a site assessment trip in July 2008 to the Malamulo Hospital Campus. Adventist Health International, who supported the assessment trip, runs the hospital. During the trip, the team investigated problems with the existing water system, including supply, usage, quality and distribution. We discovered that while the quality of the ground water was not a major issue, quantity was. Many of the existing boreholes were not being used due to broken equipment and other problems. In addition, a large reservoir had been contaminated by heavy metals.

The EWB team has begun by making recommendations to AHI about management of the water system, including installing meters on all buildings and selecting appropriate pumps for the system. Members of EWB are working to develop a regular maintenance plan and are assessing the system needs to determine what additional infrastructure would be most useful.

During the trip, members of the team were also able to visit the surrounding rural communities. The hospital runs mobile clinics into the villages to provide education and medical care. EWB plans to utilize these clinics to improve local education about clean water. In addition, EWB plans to design a rain catchment system for the campus to help alleviate some of the water supply issues. This would first be implemented on a single building at either the school or hospital. If successful, additional rain catchment systems both on campus and in nearby villages could be implemented.

Volunteers are needed in many areas including local water treatment methods, rainwater catchment systems, and education.

How to get involve: contact project lead Andrew Peterman at MalawiWaterProject@gmail.com

How to donate to this project: http://www.malawiwater.org

ESSAKANE, MALI

There are 6 community-run schools located in the far northern region of Mali, just southwest of Tombouctou (Timbuktu) that have had success in enrolling both boys and girls, staffing teachers, and building permanent school structures. The schools have grown in terms of attendance every year since they were established in 2005. However, these schools have no electricity and issues with their existing wells. The schools have asked for assistance in providing solar power and computers for the teachers to develop curriculum and communication within the Malian education community, and also to improve upon their current water/sanitation systems. Providing electricity will improve academic scores and provide opportunities for after chore and dinner studying and adult education for the community. By solving these water and power issues, communities can sustain schools and literacy programs for their children and allow schools to increase their student enrollment capacity.

The initial project scope of work will have EWB-LA addressing the needs of one of these six community schools, with the first school chosen based on an assessment of each schools’ respective needs. EWB-LA has teamed up with NomadHope.org, a U.S. based NGO, Rotary International, and professionals from EWB-Washington D.C. and EWB-New York to ensure project success in its partnership with the pilot school and surrounding community.

EWB-LA is currently planning a site assessment trip for late November 2008 to visit each of the six schools and conduct an in-depth assessment on the schoolhouse determined to be most in need. Volunteers are needed in many areas including local water extraction, treatment, and distribution methods, sanitation, solar power system design, and education.

How to get involved: Contact project lead Keely McGeehan at Keely@NomadHope.org

How to donate to this project: Mali School Project

How to learn more: NomadHope

ANDRA PRADESH, INDIA

As a continuation of the previous Tsunami Reconstruction projects and efforts put into improving rural fishing villages on the south-eastern coast of India in the aftermath of the December 2004 Tsunami, EWB-LA is currently assisting the EWB-Houston and EWB-San Francisco professional chapters in designing and constructing water stations for a few of these coastal villages. EWB-LA performed the structural design for the water stations and has sent volunteers in March and September of 2008 to India to oversee the construction of the water stations. The SF team designed the waste water system and wetlands, while the Houston team provided a rainwater catchment design along with general project management.

The water stations will serve as a sheltered source of water for drinking and food preparation, cleaning the fish catch of the day, and laundry. The women of the community- responsible for raising and educating children, cleaning, cooking, gathering water, laundry, etc.- play a critical role in the health and development of the community and currently their daily responsibilities make it inconvenient to meet with one another. The water stations will create a common gathering place for the women of the community to exchange ideas and discuss community affairs whilst performing their daily work.

EWB has partnered with Rotary-International in India to make this project a success.

How to get involved: contact Mike Posey

How to donate to this project: Tsunami India Project