Rick Stephenson, advisor of the UMR chapter of Engineers Without Borders, sent Visions a link to La Prensa, the major newspaper in Honduras. The article about EWB's efforts was the paper's lead story. EWB was featured on a full page in the Valle de Sula section with quotes and pictures, like the one here.
Stephenson sums up this week's journey like this: "Great trip, great students, much need. We will save lives here."
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Hola again!
We have now completed our site assessment. Yesterday we finished mapping the existing water system and interviewing people from the various districts of Santiago. We found (and smelled) the local hog farm, got plenty of statistics from the resident nurse, and evaluated the proposed site of the water tank we will be building.
Then, like every night, we kicked back to swap stories with the group from Washington, Mo. Their organization have been coming down here for 15 years to do construction, medical, and dental work. The construction brigade is staying with us in the bodega, so we have gotten to know them quite well. Maybe we will come down with them in the future.
OK. We've now got three separate blogging parties in Central America. The international engineering class (featuring Jared Wehde) and the Women as Global Leaders class are in Guatemala. The UMR chapter of Engineers Without Borders is in Honduras.
Updates from the Women as Global Leaders class are being provided through a collective effort by Casey Duncan, Marian Christiansen and Rachel Sweringen:
Day 3... We started off the day going to an elementary school called John Wesley. The students ranged from grades 1-4. We gave our presentation on the importance of water filtration and sanitation. The students seemed to receive us well. After that we went to the orphanage before going back to the same school to talk to the junior high students. When we presented an activity for them to do they were quite skeptical. They were to build a tower out of one piece of paper and one piece of tape. Though these were the only materials given to them, many found things outside of that to make their towers stand up...like gum, rocks, and even quetzals.
Day 4... Today we went to another school where the students seemed to just love us. They istened intently to our presentation and then participated in the activity. Afterwards, many of them clung to Ashlee (Abbott) and weren't going to let her go. After that, we had a little break and hiked up to some of the Mayan ruins which date back to about 1200 B.C. There was actually a healing ceremony going on while we were there. After that we spent a little more time at the orphanage before making our way back to Chichi.
The last few days have been the most important of the trip. For the last three months we have been researching and planning for this week. Everything is going pretty smoothly considering the circumstances. We have installed all of our equipment at the site and are begining to sample the water. Students and instructors from CUNOC are also here to learn how to test the water in the future. We have enjoyed their company and their ability to help us with out Spanish. -- Jared Wehde
Another University of Missouri-Rolla group has made its way to a Central American country for spring break.
The UMR chapter of Engineers Without Borders sent three students and one faculty member to Honduras to assess potential community projects. Here's their report:
Hola from Pimienta, Honduras! We arrived in hot and muggy (yet beautiful) San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Saturday afternoon. Our first stop was the nearby Copprome Orphanage, home to 60 Honduran orphans. The kids were amazingly friendly and affectionate towards us. They approached perfect strangers with open arms, and it seemed we had all made new best friends.
Girl playing with a pogo stick at an orphanage in Guatemala (photo: Marian Christiansen)
Marian Chistiansen and other students from UMR's Women as Global Leaders class have joined Jared and the rest of the gang in Guatemala. In addition to Jared's Journal, we'll be providing some posts from Marian, starting with the following:
The WAGL students woke up around 3:45 in the morning to catch their first flight. It has been an interesting trip with lots of unexpected happenings. The drive from Guatemala City to Chichicastenango was bumpy, and full of scenery that was beautiful. We arrived in Chichicastenango around 4 p.m. Guatemalan time. We ate at a place called Cafe San Juan,which we must say has the world's greatest chocolate con leche (hot chocolate made with milk).As we were going to bed, a processional was in the streets in preparation of Holy Week, thus keeping us up for a while.
Day two, Sunday...We woke up to a nice Pancake breakfast provided by the hotel. We then ventured into the streets for Market Day. After about an hour in the streets, we went to Pastor Thomas´s house to assist the UMR students working on a new watter system setup there. We then left their house and went to the orphanage in Lemoa, where we got to play with the children.
We put in a request to Jared (who continues his journal below) to positively identify the intrepid spring breakers in this photo. We'll add their names to this post when Jared responds.
UPDATE: Jared himself is on the left and the other climber is Will Granich. Both are seniors in environmental engineering.
The last two days have been exciting but also exhausting. Early Saturday morning (4:30 a.m.), we made our way up Santa Maria volcano. The views were out of this world but the trip up the mountain was intense. Six miles, a steep 3,000 meters, and three hours later we made it to the top. The air was thin due to the elevation, roughly 10,000 feet, and gave even those who were in shape a challenge. After arriving at the top, we found another volvono nearby erupting nearly every fifteen minutes with ash and steam. The trip to the top was definitely worth it. The trip down was physically easier but more dangerous, the steep slope and ash cause more than a few trips and falls.
Today (Sunday) we awoke in Chichicastenango to the large crowd of Sunday markets. We traveled to the Pastor´s house where we will be working. The task for today was to install a new spigot, we will be installing our monitoring equipment tomorrow.
Jared Wehde sent us a new dispatch from Guatemala. During the past few days, UMR students have been visiting dead people, drinking hot chocolate, possibly witnessing sacrifices, and planning projects that will improve the quality of water for some of the people in Guatemala.
The last few days have been really busy with Spanish classes in the morning and visiting CUNOC University at night. Tuesday's Spanish class entailed traveling to the public cemetary with our our instructors. We used the time to practice Spanish and learn about local culture. Many the tombs were very large and eloborate. The tenants of the cemetary actually pay rent and can be kicked out if they don't pay. This exlplains a few empty tombs.Tuesday night at CUNOC was spent giving presentions about what we plan to do next week in Chichicastenango: collecting water quality data, surveying physical water parameters and building a ceramic water filter holder.
Wednesday morning we were escorted by the Spanish school staff to the local center, where we visited the museum, a few churches, the municipal building and a local chocalate cafe. If you ever have the chance to have hot chocalate here, you will never drink swiss miss again.
This morning (Thursday) we traveled to a local Mayan ritualisic site where sacricfices and burnings are a regular occurance. Nearby there was a family business where fiber was dyed using boiling cauldrons to produce thread for clothing and other textiles.
Our time at CUNOC University has come to an end. We said our goodbyes to the students and faculty and will be spending the next few days hiking and traveling to the project site. We are looking forward to next week and actually begining our work.
P.S. We'll be adding a few guest bloggers next week, when members of UMR's Women as Global Leaders class arrive in Guatemala for Spring Break.
Diane Franken, a senior in geological engineering, gets intensive Spanish lessons in Guatemala. (Photo: Jared Wehde)
Last year, Visions was fortunate to receive reports from UMR students who spent Spring Break in Guatemala, where they worked on water quality issues. This year, we've arranged for more dispatches from Guatemala. Jared Wehde, a senior in environmental engineering, is one of the UMR students who is currently in Central America. Jared will be the reporter in Visions' Guatemala bureau for the next two weeks. Check in every couple of days to read Jared's Journal, starting with this post.
The trip to Xela took around 12 hours. Six hours in airports and six hours in a van from Guatemala City to the Los Americas hotel where we will be staying. The lodging is comfortable and near a commercial area so we are definitely not without. After settling in, we atteded Spànish school classes Monday morning and will continue to do so all this week. The school was hidden amongst the bulidings and narrow streets but after walking inside the place felt very large. Every room and rooftop contained instructors providing us with one-on-one instruction. Monday afternoon, we arrived at CUNOC University. We were greeted by local students and given tours of the campus. It was easy to make freinds, even with some language barriers. The students were similar to us in many ways. We also took turns giving presentations about a typical day in the life of a student. We look forward to spending the rest of this week´s afternoons together. We will be busy this week with Spaninsh school and visitng CUNOC. Everything is going great so far. We will also be traveling to various sites around town.
Carlos Correa, a reporter for KOLR-10 in Springfield, was on campus this week to talk with Richard Stephenson and Katie Fritts, two members of the Engineers Without Borders chapter at the University of Missouri Rolla. Stephenson, the chapter's advisor and a professor of civil engineering, and Fritts, a freshman from Kansas City, Mo., shared with Correa their plans for an upcoming trip to Honduras over spring break. Two other students, Will Kirby of Elkhorn, Neb., and Lucas Rottler of Waterloo, Ill., will also make the journey.
Correa's story aired last night on the CSB station. In case you missed it, you can still watch it online or read the story.
BTW - While on campus, Correa also spoke with Ronaldo Luna, who has accompanied EWB team members on other trips. Luna's interview, which was completed in Spanish, will air this Saturday, March 17, at 9 p.m. on KSFX in Springfield.
Discovered while YouTubingthis morning: a nice video of the 1949 St. Pat's Parade. We know it isn't related to research, but in the spirit of St. Pat's and all that blarney, we thought you might enjoy.
When it comes to the Internet, UMR's Richard Hall thinks the Swiss had it right all along. Neutrality is the best policy. The looming debate over what's being called net neutrality -- or the continuation of equal access to the web regardless of who you are or how much money you spend -- prompted Hall to send his thoughts to representative Jo Ann Emerson. He didn't send an email though. Hall, a prolific vlogger, recorded his his thoughts, posted them on the web, and sent Emerson the link. The Post-Dispatch has the story in today's edition. Essentially, some people want to make the Internet a "pay-to-play system with fast and slow lanes."
Last week's incident on campus may have canceled classes for one day, but that didn't keep students from continuing their research that week.
Associate professor John Myers invited me out the UMR's Experimental Mine last Friday to watch as Matt Tinsley, a graduate student in civil engineering from Jonesboro, Ark., put a new, eco-friendly material up against a few pounds of RDX.
A layer of concrete made from wood fibers and fly ash, two materials that otherwise end up in our nation's landfills, is added to a traditional, reinforced concrete block. Then a layer of polyurethane -- think truck-bed-liner material here -- is added to the top of the block. Another concrete block is added to provide an additional source of protection before Matt, with the assistance of UMR explosive engineering students, hangs RDX above the material. The amounts of RDX get bigger, and the distance closer, until he make the polyurethane fail.
Why use wood fibers and fly ash? Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, it's reusing waste products. Second, it lessens the amount of debris. The material essentially disintegrates when the blast hits it and the super-stretchy polyurethane layer expands to contain what's left. If regular concrete was used, concrete chunks would be flying everywhere.
Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
When I was in junior high school, my idea of a tragedy was a bad hairdo or a failing grade on an algebra quiz. A triumph? That probably would have involved either a boy or a new pair of shoes. But the group of kids visiting UMR today share a much broader definition of those two words.
They're here for Region 8 History Day , presenting papers, exhibitions, documentaries, websites and performances that all address this year's theme Triumph and Tragedy in History. They'll look at things like The first lunar landing. Or the sinking of the Titanic. You know, important stuff.
A dozen student design teams from UMR spent their weekend at the St. Louis Science Center showing parents and children alike that engineering can be cool. The exhibits were part of the center’s National Engineers Week activities.
Reporters from near and far made their way to Rolla (following the news helicopters and satellite trucks), and everybody basically did the same story. Everybody but Michele Martin from the student newspaper, The Missouri Miner. Michele's story is way better than all of the others. This basically proves my theory that, if you want to be a good journalist, stay away from the places where all of the other journalists are gathered and go get your own story.
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