In 2021, the EWB-UD chapter partnered with Engineers in Action (EIA) to build a footbridge in Bolivia. EIA has worked with over 30 universities to design and build 77 footbridges across 11 countries, connecting people to essential resources such as healthcare, markets, and education for the past 15 years. Through thorough discussion and an organization-wide vote, we chose to move forward with this project due to the ability to participate in a structures-based project, the need of the community, and the opportunity to continue working with EIA on similar projects in the future.
Just in January and February of 2021 alone, over 35,000 families in Bolivia were affected by flooding, and nine people died. The footbridges will eliminate this danger by providing safer travel across the body of water. Bolivia also needs help with its economy, child education attendance, and healthcare which could be improved by easier transportation. With the addition of a footbridge, a community could see a 12% increase in school enrollment, an 18% increase in healthcare treatment, and a 30% increase in labor market income. Although these are the measurable impacts of the bridge, there are social benefits, such as new people interacting and cultures learning each other’s customs.
From there, we helped plan, design, and then construct a pedestrian suspension bridge for the Jatun Pampa community in rural Bolivia, serving 300 people. We partnered with Georgia Tech and Eastern Mennonite University throughout building this bridge from January to September 2022. The team sent 3 students to travel over the summer for 6 weeks to complete this build, and it has been a rousing success for the community, helping them get easier access to education and farms.
The structures team then partnered again with EIA in 2023 to build a second pedestrian suspension bridge for the Rio Fisculco community in the Kainacas region of Bolivia. This time, we were partnered with Western University and Iowa State University to help build a bridge to support 250 people, giving them access to medical care education and the larger nation. The larger process was the same, but the experiences and memories gathered were different and benefited the team greatly.
Now, the structures team has pivoted towards working with the larger EWB-USA organization and is making plans to help construct a bridge for a rural community in Malawi. We have already sent a team member to the nation as part of another team to gather data on the area and see what work has to be done. We are currently figuring out basic design plans and sending people this winter to travel to the site and do some basic assessments. We hope to continue with this project in the future!