Who We Are
The Carroll College Chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA is dedicated to:
- improving the quality of life for people in developing communities worldwide through sustainable community development projects, and
- preparing future leaders who are well equipped to solve the world's most pressing problems.
All are Welcome!
Students, faculty, and professionals from all disciplines are welcome to join Carroll EWB. While our projects always have an engineering component they are, at the same time, multifaceted and require the expertise and skills of individuals from many professions and disciplines. The majority of Carroll EWB students are not engineering majors and come from just about every major on campus (e.g., biology, nursing, languages, business, international relations, education, philosophy, theology, psychology, and engineering).
If you want to do good work, learn effective strategies for global community development, become a leader, and have a lot of fun, join Carroll Engineers Without Borders. Typically, students move quickly into Carroll EWB leadership positions. There are ample opportunities for international travel, even for freshmen. Carroll EWB requires a lot of hard work and dedication, but the rewards are immense.
EWB Projects at Carroll
In Guatemala, we are strengthening a school against earthquakes.
Carroll EWB is currently working to reinforce the structure at La Asunción, the local school in Santo Tomás La Union. In the event of an earthquake, the current buildings are at a very high risk of collapsing. Since May 2012, a team of Carroll students, faculty, and professional mentors has been collaborating with a local construction crew in Santo Tomás to construct over 26 structural support walls that are required to provide adequate protection of the school against earthquakes. In 2020, the team completed reconstruction of the library building on the school grounds. In the next phase of the project, the team will be working on structural retrofit of the lower classroom building. This process is ongoing and continues to provide a structurally sound building and safe place for people to seek refuge in the event of a local natural disaster.
Thank you to those who helped us complete projects in Uganda!
After a successful ten-year partnership with Holy Trinity Senior Secondary School and the villagers in Kawango, Uganda, Carroll’s EWB Uganda team has completed their program there. Over the course of seven trips from May 2016 through June 2024, the team successively planned and implemented the rehabilitation of all three wells in the village, the drilling of a new well on the school’s campus, installation of storage tanks and a water distribution network at the school, and enhancement of the school’s water supply by installing rainwater catchment tanks near the main campus buildings. The EWB team has also undertaken studies to recommend improvements to the school’s sanitation system.
During this period, enrollment at Holy Trinity School has nearly doubled—from 350 to more than 630 students—and the school has constructed two dormitories, as well as buildings to house computer and science laboratories. The introduction of electricity to the village in 2021 also brought major improvements to both the village and the school. Much of this work has been funded by support from the Helena community through The Julius Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization, who have brought electricity to the village and the school. The Rotary Club of Helena also provided a fully equipped computer lab.
This accelerating growth has led Holy Trinity School to shift its attention from water and sanitation projects to building construction, on a more rapid scale than would be feasible for the EWB team to sustain with annual site visits. It might be said, then, that Holy Trinity School has “graduated” from its initial reliance on EWB partnership, to a period of self-guided development, which is precisely the goal for which EWB programs aim!
Thank you to those who helped us complete projects in Mexico & St. Lucia!
Carroll EWB wrapped up projects at an orphanage in Mexico. Its first project focused on implementing a waste-water treatment system that allows the orphanage to clean its wastewater and reuse it for fish farming and irrigation. The second project centered around the development and installation of a new irrigation system that brings water nearly one mile from two reservoirs to seven farm fields. The final project was the building of a pedestrian bridge that provides for more efficient and safer operations at the orphanage.
Our work in St. Lucia included repairing the rainwater catchment system, installing a more efficient pump, separating the rainwater from the more expensive municipal water, and advising staff toward more efficient use of the system to reduce costs of operations and provide better care for the residents of the Marian Home for the Elderly. An efficient and effective domestic water system is a critical element for the good care that the Carmelite sisters provide for the Home's residents.
