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HONORS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECT PROPOSAL FORM
Complete this proposal prior to your project’s start date and upload it in the UHP Database
(https://webapps.uc.edu/uchonorsstudent). Create a project (“Add a new record”) in the “Tracking Project” tab
and then upload your proposal document as an attachment. Your submission will be reviewed during the next
review cycle.
While the quality of the proposal is most important, strong proposals are typically 3-4 pages in length (singlespaced). Please maintain the proposal format.
Basic Information
Full Name: Anton Matthew Smith
UC Email: smith5a9@mail.uc.edu
College: CEAS
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Title of Project: EWB Rorya Community Assessment
Thematic Area (choose only one): Global Studies
Expected Project Start Date: 10/19/13
Expected Project End Date: 11/2/13
Project Information
1. Provide a detailed abstract of your proposed honors experiential learning project.
This coming October, I am traveling as a representative of Engineers Without Borders – UC to the
Rorya district of Tanzania with a group of Village Life Outreach Project (VLOP) and EWB-UC members
in order to visit several of our partner communities, including Burere and Nyambogo, as well as assist with
VLOP’s humanitarian aid. Over the course of two weeks (10/19 – 11/2), we will spend time meeting with
the village council, district water engineers, Tanzanian regional government officials, and local members of
the Shirati Health, Education, and Development organization (SHED) in an effort to finalize EWB-UC’s
designs for a groundwater well, tank, and distribution system for the community of Nyambogo. My travel
group will also be helping with an existing rain catchment project on a school building in Nyambogo,
making changes to the current design and expanding to both sides of the building, to provide a source of
cleaner water during the rainy season. We will also be performing an inspection of the continuing
construction Kigoriu Schoolhouse, a joint project between EWB-UC and the community of Burere, as it
nears completion. In between these meetings, other members of EWB and I will be assisting with VLOP’s
Health initiative, taking heights, weights, blood pressure, and providing other non-technical medical aid
assistance to the professionals we are traveling with. In total, I will spent ~6 days of the trip traveling, 8
days on the ground in the Rorya district, and one day on a safari education trip with the rest of our group.
Itinerary:
Day 1, 10/19 – Depart US
Day 2, 10/20 – Arrive in Nairobi, Kenya, stay overnight in Nairobi
Day 3, 10/21 – Drive to Shirati, Tanzania
Day 4, 10/22 – Meet with SHED Officials, meet with Nyambogo Chairman, and assess rain catchment
needs
Day 5, 10/23 – Visit build/drill locations in Nyambogo, order/buy build supplies for rain catchment
Day 6, 10/24 – Visit Burere, inspect schoolhouse
Day 7, 10/25 – Assist with VLOP’s humanitarian work
Day 8, 10/26 – Rain catchment construction
Day 9, 10/27 – Meet with district water engineers, meet with water survey contractor
Day 10, 10/28 – Rain catchment construction
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Day 11, 10/29 – Depart Shirati, arrive at Mara Simba Safari Lodge
Day 12, 10/30 – Morning Safari, Afternoon Safari
Day 13, 10/31 – Drive to Nairobi, stay overnight in Nairobi
Day 14, 11/1 – Depart Nairobi
Day 15, 11/2 – Arrive US
Clearly and thoroughly address how each of the following elements will be exhibited in your work:
2. Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area (identified above)
The three Learning Outcomes I have chosen for my Global Studies Experience are:
A. Possess global literacy, including knowledge of geography, history, current world issues and
similarities and differences among cultures
This is something it is necessary to familiarize myself with before I travel, and it’s something
that Engineers Without Borders – UC puts a large emphasis on. We have a cultural and education
committee which is committed to teaching us about our partner community’s geography, history,
and current events in order to keep us informed and safe when we travel, as well as better
understanding the needs of the communities. Last spring semester, we had presentations and
speakers on subjects of Tanzanian history in the 20th century, Tanzanian education system (from a
UC student from Tanzania!), and other subjects relevant to our projects. I’ve been reading African
news on the BBC World website, paying close attention to stories from Tanzania and neighboring
Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya (particularly recent aggression between Kenya and Somalia) in an
attempt to be informed of potential risks before I travel. I have also been having routine meetings
with members of Village Life Outreach Project who travel to this region routinely, from whom I
learn about past projects, past issues, and past successes (a more short term “partnership” history).
B. Recognize the interdependence of world economies, political systems and the environment
During this trip, I will be meeting with members of our partner communities in an attempt to
better understand their community economy, village/district political systems, and environment, so
as to form a better partnership and better meet the community’s needs. I will be meeting with several
members of local government, regional government leadership, and regional water engineers, hoping
to familiarize myself with how the local government works. I particularly hope to build a report
with the regional water engineers, who will be involved with our efforts to drill a well in Nyambogo.
By traveling to the community and learning more about their culture, particularly by buying
materials for a rain catchment system and building it with the help of contractors on the ground in
Shirati, I plan to gain a greater understanding of the local economy and how it compares to ours,
with similarities and differences. I also will make an effort to understand how an equatorial climate
plays a role in the villagers’ everyday lives, as our water projects (rain catchment and
well/tank/distribution system) are so rooted in the local environment, from rainfall and seasons to the
state of the groundwater and springs.
C. Interact with individuals from different cultures and express a sensitivity, appreciation and respect for
the complex range of experiences of diverse peoples
The water project I am involved in is estimated to reach a total of 7,000 people directly, as
well as an unpredictable number indirectly, by adding a new water source to the middle of a rural
village. This village consists of members of different tribes of Tanzania, including Luo, Bantu, and
Suba, and in order for my committee to design a viable distribution system for this community, I will
need to be familiar with the local culture as well as the diversity that exists within this community. I
will also be traveling to different communities of the Rorya district, as a couple more distant
locations in Tanzania and Kenya, all of which have a different makeup of people and tribal
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traditions, which I will get the opportunity to interact with and learn about through my engineering
project and the humanitarian aid with VLOP.
3. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories (include reference list, as appropriate)
A.
My involvement with Engineers Without Borders has always been a combination of professional
and personal experience for me. On the one hand, it is very technically based. It has provided me
with an opportunity to learn the process of engineering that a project (or product, in the professional
world) undergoes from conception to completion. For example, I have been with this
well/tank/distribution project for two years, and in that time we have gone from initial planning, to
initial design, to troubleshooting, to community engagement, and now to final planning/final design,
which is the purpose of this trip. As I progress through my university career, I am beginning to
understand that this is a more and more common process, especially when compared to co-ops I
have had at GE Aviation, and my work with Engineers Without Borders is giving me great
experience with this engineering process in multiple contexts (working with EWB-USA, working
with VLOP, and working with the community itself).
Beyond the professional, however, EWB is something that I was excited to do from the minute I
saw it at UC. I have always loved engineering, the technical and design side, but I also really like
the idea of using my skills to help someone, or to show them how to help themselves. Engineers
Without Borders gives me that opportunity like no other organization can. So far as committee chair
of the Nyambogo Water Project, I have partnered with the construction of Stage 1 of the rain
catchment, decided on an initial design for the well system, collaborated on the final design, and
gotten a water survey done in Nyambogo, putting us in good standing to have a well drilled in the
next 6 months. These are all important experiences to me, and have helped me to discover what I
love doing with my engineering education.
B.
To prepare myself for this trip, I plan to gain a basic understanding of Swahili, which is one of
the more common languages of Tanzania, along with knowledge of Luo, the language of the local
tribes. However, my engineering schedule has not allowed me to take Swahili as a course at UC (it
is a 5 day a week class, and I have conflicts with it on Mon/Wed), but I have spoken with the
professor previously and he has given me permission to sit in on classes that I am able to attend to
learn the basics, even if not for college credit (class info: AFST1011, Elementary Swahili). As UC
does not have a Luo course, I will be learning a few basics from a VLOP member who has traveled
to the area before.
Additionally, I plan to use the coursework from the Engineering in Developing Nations class I
took in Spring Semester 2013 to help me with the writing of the Pre Assessment, Heath and Safety
Preparedness, and Post Assessment forms, which are all part of the EWB-USA travel process. The
coursework and course resources had an emphasis on standard engineering processes, but included
the necessities of working in a nation like Tanzania (health/working conditions, cultural differences,
dealing with the language barrier).
4. Initiative, Independence, and Creativity
For the past year and a half, I have been the committee chair of the Nyambogo Water Project with
EWB-UC, and I am currently the most senior active member of the project. As of last April, we have no
one on the committee who has visited our partner community of Nyambogo, and so I have taken the
responsibility to be the main point of contact with them for my remaining three years as a student at the
University of Cincinnati. Naturally, this requires a trip to the village and surrounding area to get to know
the village council, our partner organization SHED, and the local culture to better serve their needs. As
there are only two representatives from EWB-UC traveling (myself and our mentor Mark Miller), I
organized this trip by partnering with the Village Life Outreach Project’s Fall Brigade, who travels routinely
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as part of their Health initiative. This saved greatly on cost and gave us a travel structure to work around
instead of starting from scratch. I am also taking responsibility for filling out the necessary paperwork for
EWB-USA (the national oversight organization) to get permission to travel; this includes a Pre-Assessment
form (“521”, detailing goals, what we will do, our timeline/itinerary, our budget, etc.), a health and safety
form (“HASP”, detailing safety precautions, vaccinations, emergency contacts, etc.), and a Post-Assessment
form (522, detailing what was done, what was learned, state of the village, state of the chapter, future plans,
etc.).
5. Reflection
During my trip, I am going to keep a pair of journals, one for Engineers Without Borders business
(notes from meetings, discussion points, plans for the future, etc), and one for my personal experience in
Tanzania. One will represent the professional side of my travel, and the other will represent my personal
growth on my first trip to Africa. I also plan on writing blog updates for the Engineers Without Borders
blog before, during (connection permitting), and after my trip. Following my return from Tanzania, I will
be drafting a Post-Assessment form for EWB-USA (as mentioned in section 4, “Initiative, Independence,
and Creativity”) to summarize the events of the trip and give details to the future of the partnership, which
will also act as a form of reflection. Lastly, I plan to write an info packet for those traveling to/partnering
with the village of Nyambogo, containing pertinent information for the next committee chair and avoiding
loss of knowledge following leadership turnover (combining reflection and dissemination).
Reflection Checklist:
 I plan to keep a pair of journals
 Write EWB blog updates
 Fill out a post-trip reflection for EWB-USA
6. Dissemination
Following this trip, I will be the only person currently in EWB-UC who has traveled to our partner
community of Nyambogo, and that means I will play a large role in our recruitment efforts and social
events. Our group has a large emphasis on recruiting new students, and in the past I have spoken to
Introduction to Co-op classes, where professors often bring in speakers for relevant student groups. I hope to
do this again this coming spring, with new knowledge and new content to show future recruits. I also plan to
speak at the EWB Regional Conference, hosted by the UC chapter, on November 11th -13th, and present
project updates and pictures from my trip to representatives from more than 50 different chapters from the
Great Lakes region. Finally, as mentioned previously, I plan to create detailed information packet about life
in the village (including bio’s of important members of the community, important cultural information,
relevant statistics about the population, and any other important information I write down in my journals
during my trip which might be useful to the next committee chair).
Dissemination Checklist:
 I plan to use my travel experience to help with recruitment, Intro to Co-op
 Present my knowledge at our conference
 Create a packet documenting what I learned for future travelers.
7. Project Advisor (list the person’s name, title, and contact information)
Mark Miller, EWB-UC Professional Mentor
Email: mark.miller@jacobs.com, mark.miller.cincy@gmail.com
Phone: (513) 706-5072
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8. Budget (if applicable)
Total budget cost, as developed by Village Life Outreach Project: $3,800
Itemized cost breakdown:
Airfare = $1,800
Ground Transportation in Africa = $300
Kenyan Visa = $40
Tanzania Visa = $100
Tanzania Immigration Fees = $200
Room & Board in Nairobi = $100
Room & Board in Tanzania = $300
Room & Board on Safari = $300
Safari Park Fees = $160
Additional Expenses (Translators, Water, Meals, Supplies, etc.) = $500