At the End, Coming Full Circle

Imagine. Imagine growing up in a small community. No paved roads, no sidewalks. No TV, no email, no internet. No newspaper on your doorstep, no shelf of books at home. No carpet, no tile, no linoleum on the floor. No refrigerator, no lightbulbs, no electricity. No flushing toilet, no running water. No running water.

Many of us read what's above and think that we can handle it. It's just like camping! But think about it again, this isn't camping for a weekend or a week, this is your home, for everyday. This is how people in Otho Abwao live. But the best part? Look at the photo below, do those kids look sad?

That's what hit me the most when the EWB-UCIN team of eight plus one professor went to Kenya to implement our water distribution project. The smiling kids were everywhere. They were happy to scamper and play and watch as we built something they had never seen, a tap with water running out of it.

Other members below and above have expounded on some of the grittier details. About how we got there, the delay of materials, Dan needing to stay longer, the power of a thank you. While I don't want to make my post a repeat, the same thoughts and feelings apply with a personal twist.

Being there and helping make something that all of us take for granted is amazing. It truly is hard to describe. I feel that you need to speak to me in person about it so you can see my facial expressions. From gathering water in a muddy pond with water lapping at cow and goat poop on the side to clean groundwater pouring from a tap. That is a leap, that is impressive.

Completing this implementation trip at the end of my senior year, I feel that I've come full circle. When I joined EWB as a freshman, soon after it was founded, I knew this is what I wanted to do. No other organization could touch the real engineering design influenced by health and culture. You simply can not get that anywhere else at UC. On the trip I think Jordan put it best when he said that all of his other engineering work didn't matter. Yes, we've all learned important concepts and educational tools to be able to complete this part of the project, but this is the first time any of us has made a real impact on real lives. This is real engineering. The full circle part? That's me at an EWB meeting telling younger members what EWB is and now what EWB has done. To see freshmen get excited about EWB in the same way I did, and then want to run with it. That's how the circle is completed, only to come around again.