International Projects

12Oct 2016 by ewbrhit

EWB-RHIT Implements the Substructure for the Second Latrine

In August of 2016, we traveled to the village of Gomoa Gyaman , Ghana for the fourth time since 2013. Our travel team consisted of six students, Camille Blaisdell, Rachel Broughton, Louis Campbell, Emily Haussmann, Andy Rhine, and Dhruv Vora, our technical mentor Jed Holt, and our faculty mentor Dr. Daniel Tetteh-Richter. On previous trips, we constructed one latrine and communicated with village elders to formulate a design to meet Gomoa Gyaman’s needs as serve as a source of pride. During this trip, we completed the substructure of the second latrine in the village. We also completed the superstructure of the first latrine since time restraints kept last spring’s travel team from finishing. The community, with the supervision of the team, painted the latrine and finished installing the plumbing, stall…

18Jan 2016 by ewbrhit

Return to Ghana

International Projects, Uncategorized

In just a few weeks, from February 25th to March 6th, we will be returning to Gomoa Gyaman, Ghana to finish constructing the latrine! Over the fall and winter, the latrine substructure remained covered and unused, waiting for the next phase of construction. We will make use of the lessons learned on last summer’s trip including quality and availability of materials and labor delegation. Currently, we are making sure all of our vaccinations are complete, developing a construction plan, and calculating the amount of material and labor required. This lengthy process includes all members of the club, not only those who will be travelling. This latrine will have 10 stalls and 2 handwashing stations. It will be constructed using CMU and mortar walls with a truss-style roof. Stalls will be…

04Aug 2015 by ewbrhit

Ghana Go-Ahead

International Projects, Uncategorized

The RHIT student chapter of EWB has been given final approval to travel to Ghana on their first implementation trip to the community of Gomoa Gyaman! It’s been since August 2013 that the chapter first traveled to Gomoa Gyaman on an assessment trip in which the team met with community leaders and residents to learn about the needs of the community. The team learned that the community suffers from a sanitation issue due to a lack of adequate places to go to the bathroom. Much of the community practices open defecation while using the limited privacy of brush and other plants. The bathroom facilities that do exist are in very poor condition and pose structural safety threats. Children in the community are at high risk of contracting fecal-born diseases as…

18Sep 2013 by ewbrhit

EWB-RHIT begins new project in Gomoa Gyaman, Ghana

International Projects, Uncategorized

Having finished our program in the Dominican Republic (which included the construction of a septic system and retrofitting an existing building with a hurricane proof roof to increase the quality and quantity of care provided by a medical clinic, as well as constructing latrines in a disease-ridden community nearby), our next program, starting this summer, will be in a brand new community. We will be returning to Ghana, this time to the community of Gomoa Gyaman, about 50 miles from our previous program in Obodan where we constructed a brooder house and a community center. Everyone is very excited about the prospects of this collaboration and we can’t wait to see what working together over the next 5 years will lead to! The Gomoa Gyaman community has about 5,000 indigenous…

18Sep 2013 by ewbrhit

EWB-RHIT completes construction in Batey Santa Rosa, Dominican Republic

International Projects, Uncategorized

Our second implementation trip to Batey Santa Rosa in the Dominican Republic took place at the end of February, 2013. Our project’s goal in Batey Santa Rosa is to build twelve latrines for the community, which will help limit the spread of fecal-born parasites and disease. During our first implementation trip we constructed three latrines and over the next six months the community successfully built three latrines on their own, using the skills and knowledge that we taught them. The second implementation project was a one week trip where six students and two mentors inspected the latrines that they had built and then constructed three additional latrines; this brings the total number up to nine latrines, three shy of the project’s goal. Next year we will return to inspect the…