About

About

From July 2017 I will be spending 6 months as a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders UK, working with their partner organisation MASS in Kigali, Rwanda. MASS is a non-profit architecture foundation which designs innovative buildings that improve people’s lives in measurable ways – including schools, hospitals and libraries. They have a strong emphasis on collaboration and training to develop local expertise and create a sustainable future for engineering and architecture in Rwanda.

I’ll be working with MASS to help develop their geotechnical engineering capability. This will involve working alongside their engineering team as they tackle foundation and retaining wall design. I’ll be producing design guides and calculation templates for common problems, creating guidance documents on ground investigation techniques and construction methodologies, and generally providing advice and support. I’ll also be learning a lot about Rwandan soils, design and construction techniques, and of course Rwandan life and culture.

Engineers Without Borders UK is a charity which partners with organisations and communities around the world to increase access to engineering in water and sanitation, clean energy and built environments. Over the past five years through their international work they have contributed a staggering 160,000 hours to projects, supporting the delivery of engineering infrastructure and the research and development of sustainable technologies. This year they are providing volunteers to projects designing solar power in Peru and micro-hydro in Borneo, building safe community spaces and providing flood protection in Kenya, and developing cleaner cookstoves in India – among other things! If you’d like to help Engineers Without Borders UK continue their incredible work, you can donate at my JustGiving page.