Update on Work in Canada

I decided I should give a brief update on my involvement with EWB and ITFC since my return to Canada, I have been back for about 6 months now, it's hard to believe!

In my last post I mentioned that I would explore how I can contribute the skills I have been learning through my engineering degree in Canada to the irrigation scheme at ITFC. Well, I have completed my technical paper on damming seasonal rivers to create artificial reservoirs. I performed a case study on ITFC and have developed a superior design for the weirs the company is currently using. I submitted this document to the company last week, along with an Excel spreadsheet that peforms calculations based on the inputs of the required dimensions of the weirs and the foundation soil properties.

I have also been exploring the prospect of a design project in Northern Ghana for McGill Civil Engineering students in their final year. I just received hydrological data and topographic maps in the mail from ITFC, and have submitted these documents to my design adviser. He is going to see if there is sufficient information to complete the project. So things have been moving along!

Besides staying connected with ITFC, I have been doing a lot of work here in Canada. I have already given 6 presentations on my placement to: engineering classes, rotary clubs, and EWB members, and I have 4 more coming up for: high school students, fundraising events, the engineering faculty, and another class. These presentations along with one-on-one conversations have allowed me to share my experience with several different audiences. A big part of the junior fellowship program is learning as much as you possibly can while you are overseas and bringing it back to your chapter and community. I am also mentoring the volunteers who are preparing to leave for Burkina Faso and Ghana this summer, which has been really fun and I am confident that they will so an amazing job!

I have kept in touch with my Ghanaian family and friends "small small" as they say in Ghana. I wish I have been communicating with them more, but it has been difficult. There is so much they don't understand about my life here in Canada. I recently received an email from my friend Zidane (Amina's eldest son), and he asked me for money to support the family in buying tractor. While I completely support this initiative, I can not bring myself to simply give them money. First of all, I don't really have any money to give at the moment as I am still a student and without income. Secondly, I fear that I will just be feeding into what I feel is one of the biggest problems with development work: fostering a dependency on outsiders for aid and poverty aleviation. Instead of giving money, I have given Zidane some information on microfinance institutions such as www.kiva.org and www.microplace.com. These websites allow people from all over the world to invest in communities and small businesses in developing countries.

So there is a brief summary of the past 6 months, feel free to ask me any questions