CPHI Retreat
Water and Public Health
December 2, 2010
Community Impact:
Global Water Crisis
 1.1 billion people worldwide
have inadequate access to
clean water
 2.6 billion people worldwide
have inadequate access to
sanitation
 1.8 million child deaths occur
each year as a result of
diarrhea
Opportunities
 Communities in developing countries benefit from
shared resources beyond their borders
 Students from the U.S. benefit from global
engagement in a cross cultural setting
Different Goals
 Primary goal for community is to improve health
with a sustainable water and sanitation system
 Primary goal for students and the sponsoring
academic institution is a global education
 How can these goals be achieved with a positive
outcome for everyone involved?
 Water supply more amenable to merging goals than
other community development projects
What’s Needed? - Initially
 Request for assistance from an
established NGO working in
community
 Proposed project small enough
in scale
 Community willing to
contribute their own resources
What’s Needed? - Preparation
Preparation and Groundwork for Community and
students before implementation:
 Assessment trip to understand design constraints and
begin relationship
 Preparation of a Memo of Understanding outlining roles
and commitments
 Community needs to organize its leadership and
resources for long term sustainability
 Students need to participate in design and learn about
cultural context in a course
What’s Needed? - Implementation
 NGO critical
 Students need to be hosted in
community
 Daily communication at all
stages
 Sharing of technical design
attributes
What’s Needed? – Follow-up
 Community needs technical oversight from NGO’s
representative in communication with
Mentor/student team to complete project
 Students need to provide feedback on their experience
and the opportunity to learn on impact of design
 Should be independent evaluation of project after
complete and operating.
Mission & Objectives
Mission:
Improve the quality of life for individuals and communities in the
developing world through sustainable technology and engineering,
and through engaging students in learning about and service to civil
society.
Program Objectives:
1. Teach students about the challenges in
the developing world and the role that
appropriate technology and sustainable
engineering plays in this setting.
2. Work closely with local communities to
responsibly provide useful technical
solutions to individuals and
communities in the developing world.
Organization
 SEAS Community Technology and Outreach Initiatives “office”
 Local initiatives
 Global initiatives
 Departmental and faculty involvement
 Teaching
 Leading field projects
 Student organizations
 Integral to the learning and projects model
 Student leadership experiences
 Oversight and administration
 SEAS Office of Academic Programs/Associate Dean
 Faculty Advisory Committee
 Director
 Staff
Projects
 Clean water delivery & sanitation systems
Honduras 2006-present
Cameroon 2007-present
India 2009-present
Guatemala 2009-present
Problem Solving/Learning
 EAS 296 - Sustainable Development in
Cameroon
• EAS 297 Sustainable
Development:
Technology for
Water &
Sanitation
 Classroom Preparation - Engineering
 Engineering for Rural Water and Sanitation


Water demand and supply; Public health
Spring Development and Protection
 Engineering for Sustainable Development
 Appropriate Technology in International Development
 Practical Field Engineering
 Classroom Preparation - Cameroon Orientation
 Presentation by Travel Medicine
 Review of Cameroon history and culture with focus on Kob-
Tudig region
 Meta language
 Team work in cross-cultural setting
Academic Deliverables
 Homeworks
 System Design
 On-the-ground
experience
 Daily journal
 Capstone Project
Community Impact
Infrastructure
Education
Health and Livelihood
- Dramatic increase in clean
water availability
- Perceivably decreased soil
erosion and increased
quality of environment
- Improved communication
capabilities and access to
information
- Increased access to information
and educational resources
- Inspired greater desire to
complete education and to
advance to senior secondary
schooling and beyond
- Reduced incidence of
waterborne diseases in the
community
- Reduced time used for water
hauling, increasing time
available for productive tasks
- Increased individuals’
ambulatory ability leading to
happier and more productive
living
Key factors to success
 Strong NGO
 Guidance and clear leadership of project mentors
 Committed community. But how to gauge that from
the beginning?
 Long-term commitment to community, NGO
 Ability, willingness to revise project tracking
methodology on-the-fly
Conclusions
 Community and students have an exciting, sometimes
life-changing exchange – many say time too short
 Sustainable projects are possible but there is a risk of
failure if NGO is not able to cover for the time
student/mentor team is not present
 Academic institution needs to have a long-term
program both for students and communities