Project Description
  | Haiti2002 Ended: (in progress) Project Managers: *Tyler Lark Scott Hamel *Kyle Ankenbauer *current |   |
*new: Haiti Travel Blog
The University of Wisconsin Engineers Without Borders Haiti project is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for the people Haiti. On Saturday, January 16th, 2010, a group of five UW students and one mentor returned from their weeklong assessment trip to Bayonnais, Haiti, a rural mountainous region 70 miles North of Port-au-Prince. During their time there, the students collaborated with local Haitian workers to repair a broken water main that provides clean drinking water to a 10-mile stretch of the region. In addition, they worked with a group of travelers from North Carolina to assess the best way to help the area.
The students were in Bayonnais during the earthquake. Though there was no structural damage done, the effects of the earthquake to the community will be severe. Port-au-Prince was the primary point of entry for goods and materials into the country. With that link now severed, the region has already begun to experience food and supply shortages, and these needs will continue to escalate in the coming weeks and months. The UW students are rallying together to raise money that will help support the rural community in this time of need.
If you would like to donate, please go to our UW Foundation Donations Page, and add "Haiti Earthquake" after the "Peter J. Bosscher Engineers Without Borders Fund" text that is already in the detailed instructions box. All proceeds will be sent directly to the community of Bayonnais, Haiti to support immediate purchase of food and supplies.
If you would like to contribute to long-term development projects in the region, please denote "Haiti Project"on your donation.
Project History
The Haiti project is a collaboration with EWB-SF (the San Francisco Professionals Chapter of EWB), a coalition of churches in North Carolina, and OFCB (an NGO in Haiti). It takes place in the Bayonnais river valley, a rural mountainous region in Northern Haiti that is home to approximately 80,000 people. The project in Bayonnais has been underway since 2002. In that time, EWB has constructed a three-span vehicular bridge over a large river, and installed a photovoltaic solar power system to provide electricity to a church and school in Bayonnais. EWB-SF is currently working on the design and construction of a medical clinic that will provide much needed health care to the region. The current focus of the UW group is to design and construct a hydro-electric power generation facility to provide electricity for the clinic and other community buildings.
The area of this project was already devastated by Hurricane Hannah, which damaged the 2006 EWB bridge and has caused devastation of farms and homes. In addition to hydroelectricity, the team will be working on projects related to the relief effort, such as repairs to the bridge and road repair. The Haiti group is also involved in several smaller projects including a class in land surveying for Haitian students, health and sanitation education, and new school classrooms.
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