BOLIVIA PROJECT

OUR PARTNER

We are honored to have the opportunity to work with Engineers in Action on this project. Engineers in Action (EIA) is a relatively young non-profit organization that is “dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable communities in Latin America.” They have a strong vision: “a world where everyone can live healthy and dignified lives with access to essential services” and an ambitious mission: “to achieve this, it is our mission to support the development of sustainable systems and infrastructure with underserved communities, local expertise, and global partners.” They listen to the needs of the communities that they work with and then help the communities meet those needs. When EIA implements projects, they make sure to hire professionals from Latin America because they share a common culture and language with members of the communities that they serve. 

Engineers in Action proudly states, “we invest in the people we serve” by “providing training [to] increase their own capacity.” They focus on maintaining community relationships and a sustainable framework in order to improve the quality of life for those currently living in impoverished communities and the generations to come. Engineers in Action’s project in 2016 alone positivity impacted the lives of over 4,500 people in 30 communities in Bolivia. The types of projects that they have implemented include hygiene education, agricultural programs, water, sanitation, bridges and structures, playgrounds and community improvement. 

They offer various ways for anyone to get involved with their projects through interning, volunteering and service learning opportunities. They also accept donations “to bring clean water, sanitation, and infrastructure improvements to impoverished communities in great need” through their website. With their help, we will be better equipped to deliver this new sustainable water source so that 60 homes in rural Bolivia will have greater access to clean and reliable water. 

OUR CURRENT PROJECT

The Yannani Water Supply Project is our newest project, which we are excited to work on with Engineers in Action!

Yannani, which lies outside of Sucre, Bolivia, is a small community with a population of about 300 individuals. The community of Yannani is requesting technical and financial support to improve access to clean and reliable water for approximately 60 homes in the community. Many of these families gather water from open sources such as rivers and seasonal springs, which present numerous health issues due to possible contamination of the water. According to the community, a new sustainable water source would address health and sanitation issues as well as improve the well-being of residents.

The community of Yannani determined that resolving this problem is a top priority for two main reasons: 1) Water becomes scarce every year during the dry season (winter); 2) Children in the community often ail from diarrhea caused by drinking dirty water. Recently, 23 of the 77 families in the community were connected to a piping system supplied by a spring in a project implemented by the municipality. However, the municipality lacked enough funds to provide water to all of the families in the community. It is unknown when, if ever, the municipality will have sufficient funding and will be able to prioritize Yannani for another water system project. Therefore, the majority of families in the community remain without water access and must take extensive measures to obtain water for survival. Community members must walk for one hour (roundtrip) to access a nearby river. On top of this, the river hardly flows during the dry season.

In response to this water crisis, some community members have built an improvised piping system to siphon water from small springs, and the school and health center share a makeshift piping system that obtains water from small creeks and rainwater catchment tanks. However, during the dry season, these small springs and creeks dry up and rainfall severely decreases; therefore, community members have to ration water.

We are extremely excited to begin working on this project with Engineers in Action, and we are especially looking forward to working with community leaders in Yannani to develop a sustainable water source that helps address the needs of their community.

WHERE WE ARE NOW

In December 2021, we completed a virtual assessment that allowed us to receive the necessary data and information to begin the analysis portion of the project. As we are closing out this phase in our project, we are looking to implement our design in person in December 2022 or January 2023.

Currently, we are raising funds to cover the many costs associated with our project. These costs include: 

• Multiple travel expenses (since we most likely will travel to the site more than once),

• Transportation while in Bolivia

• Costs for purchase material and supplies for our projects

Estimated Budget: 

Travel costs: $16,000 

Implementation: $25,000

All donation proceeds will help us fund this implementation trip to Bolivia and ensure that we are able to truly make an impact in Yannani by giving them the best solution for their problem. It is critical that we provide the best access to a safe water supply for the many families that are currently struggling without it.