Engineering students help communities in need

While unloading lumber and roofing supplies onto what he originally thought to be a vacant lot, Josh Hamilton said he noticed a lone garage sitting on the property.

Later, he and the other students with him were told the garage sitting on that now vacant lot in Greensboro used to have a house attached to it.

"We were told there had once been a house there before the tornado destroyed it just a few days earlier," he said. "That was hard for all of us to imagine, and it made us see how much our efforts were needed."

Hamilton, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, and the other students with him that day are all part of the UA chapter of Engineers Without Borders, a student organization that partners with disadvantaged communities around the world to design and implement engineering projects that improve the quality of life in those communities.

Along with the help they provided after the tornado hit Greensboro late last year, the group has also had the opportunity to help other communities in Hale County.

In one project, the group helped improve residential plumbing in the county.

Hamilton, who is also the president of the club, said he remembered fixing one family's plumbing in particular.

The family's water had been cut off due to a problem in their plumbing and the city only fixes problems between the water meter and the distribution, Hamilton said. Problems like this, which occur between the water meter and the house, are the homeowners' responsibility.

"One of the families that we helped fix their water, the husband had just gotten out of the hospital," he said. "They couldn't get out there and dig a hole and fix it and they certainly didn't have the money to pay someone to fix it."

Hamilton said the job cost approximately $5 or $10 to fix the family's water, and saved them a lot of trouble.

For another project in Greensboro, the group restored a run-down baseball field to make it safe for children in the area to play on.

During the project, Hamilton said some of the children in the area came up to him and other members and told them their parents wouldn't allow them to play on the field or the playgrounds and basketball court nearby because it was too dangerous.

The group cleaned up broken glass off of the basketball court as well as fixed the dugouts on the baseball field, which were falling in, Hamilton said.

"When we were leaving that day we saw [the children] out there playing on the field after we had gotten everything fixed up and it was just a great feeling seeing somebody use something that we'd help fix," he said.

The group's local projects manager and vice president, James Elder, is in charge of these local projects.

Elder, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, said the next large project he is currently planning for the group is to build a baseball field in Sumter County.

He said his favorite project so far has been the tornado cleanup.

"Seeing families and how appreciative they were was very rewarding," he said.

However, the club doesn't concentrate solely on local projects. They have visited Peru twice for service projects and are planning to visit Vietnam for another next summer.

Ynhi Thai, a junior majoring in chemical engineering, is the project leader for the Vietnam project. She said she has been in charge of planning the trip and has set up a prospectus outlining what the group will do there.

According to the prospectus, the group plans to help construct a bridge for a rural village in the Mekong Delta Region of the country.

"Currently, many bridges in the Delta are simply long tree branches thrown together," Thai said in the prospectus. "These are flimsy, unsafe and unstable, especially during unfavorable weather conditions. A properly engineered bridge will provide a sustainable solution to the villagers' daily living challenges, allowing villagers easier access to food and supplies."

Thai said she has recently applied for a $3,000 service grant that will go toward the trip. She said building the bridge alone will cost about $10,000.

Hamilton said he joined the group after seeing a presentation and thought it would be a good organization to get involved with.

"I would say I have definitely gotten more involved more with community service since I've been here at college," he said.

Thai said she enjoys being in the club because it allows her to help a wide range of people.

"I just think [Engineers Without Borders] is a really good organization because we help so many people all over the world, not just locally but internationally," she said. "Engineers Without Borders is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who has a community service idea or desire to help others to connect with those who are just as motivated."

Hamilton said he encourages other students to join the club, which is open to all majors and not just those within the engineering department.

"The reason we do this is simple," Hamilton said. "We see a need in the community that we can meet, so we do it. Our goal as a group is to help those who are unable to help themselves."

Those interested in joining can contact Hamilton at jehamilton@bama.ua.edu.