Accessibility to Water in Kpando, Ghana – Reflection

Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. 

During the Autumn 2018 semester I began to learn about the ideas of Human-Centered Design and how it can be applied in creating effective and sustainable solutions to problems in developing countries. Our focus was the African country of Ghana, and over the winter break spent 10 days in the Volta region in a town called Kpando. We worked with an organization called UNiTED Projects, and spent our time visiting local communities to learn about their access to clean water. This preliminary research was brought back and will be presented to the next group of students going on the trip to start prototyping solutions.

What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place.

Having only traveled abroad to Europe, I did not have any prior exposure to the ideas of humanitarian engineering and working in developing countries. I went into the project wanting to see more of the world, a side that people often forget about. We did so much research going into the trip, about the country, about the culture, and the best ways to visit communities and help the people, but nothing was as impactful as going there in person. Nothing would have prepared me for how much I fell in love with the place and the people, and the unfortunate realization that as a group of 15 engineering students we wouldn’t be able to help everyone there.

It was an overwhelming experience, but with our focus on water it narrowed our scope, and we gained a lot of knowledge about these communities. The initial wave of stress and anxiety of trying to find a way to help everyone turned into utilizing our time to find the small things that could make a huge difference in small communities. We can’t even begin to solve a nationwide water problem from only 10 days in country, but if we focus on one community at a time we can make a huge difference. This showed me the importance of research, and knowing my work will go on to help create solutions for these people have made me realize that I can do a lot for the world, and I can’t wait to see where my next project takes me.

What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? 

Our first day in Kpando we pulled into a local palm oil plantation to talk to the owners. A couple of the women were going to collect water at a nearby stream and invited our group to join. We followed as they carried large water buckets on their heads and watched how they collect the water. In an effort to help we offered to carry a bucket for a small girl, maybe around 10 years old. Following their lead we split the work and took turns, and as they transferred it to me I couldn’t believe how heavy the water was. I had been soaked just trying to lift it, and once I had it I moved as slowly as possible. It was a humbling experience to struggle with such a simple task that these women and children have to do every day. I couldn’t imagine having to do that entire trek three or four times a day.

Another thing that stuck out to me was how deceptively simple some solutions may be. During one day in a community the team took apart a water pump that was not being used. The community had access to another nearby, but we were curious to see why this one had broken. As we starting taking it apart we realized it was working, water was flowing. Upon further inspection we realized the problem was in the smaller components and had just compounded. The pump was working, it just wasn’t maintained, but everyone had just told us it was broken. This is a perfect example of something you need to research before going in with a solution, if this had been found beforehand, the community might have not needed the other pump.  

Throughout the trip we had the opportunity to interact with so many wonderful people in these communities. Many allowed us in their homes and let us learn more about their lives, it gave me the motivation to work harder and try to find some way to help as many people as we can.  

Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? 

Before this experience I had no prior experience with Humanitarian Engineering, but moving forward I hope to make it a bigger part of my life. I’m not sure exactly yet of what this will involve, more school trips, donating to organizations, or maybe as I move into my professional career I can research and create products to help people in developing countries. Hopefully I can use my background of electrical engineering to possibly design renewable energy resources for those who don’t have access to electricity. Having power isn’t a basic human need, but it can be a valuable tool in providing access for people in need.