EDINBURGH ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS
Cambodia Project
Brief History of Cambodia
Today Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world and it is still recovering from its years under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. The majority of Cambodia lacks adequate infrastructure and healthcare is poor therefore the standard of living remains very low.
Cambodian Hope Organisation
Cambodian Hope Organisation is a charitable organisation which aims to provide shelter, education and support to street children, struggling families and HIV/Aids sufferers. The organisation has many outreach projects to provide local people with vocational training, improved farming techniques and teaching. Two years ago the organisation started developing a ‘safe haven’ centre to provide an orphanage and a school for street children, farming land and workshops for vocational training. The centre is now nearing completion with about 50 children living on site and the school being fully operational however the organisation still requires much support for completion and further improvements.
Cambodian Hope Organisation and Engineers Without Borders
In 2008 the Edinburgh branch of EWB worked with the Cambodian Hope Organisation to develop a project that would provide a source of energy for cooking and electricity production for the safe haven. In 2009 a simple system to produce biogas from animal manure was designed and constructed by small team of student engineers and local residents. The system now generates sufficient energy to provide hot meals each day for the children.
After the success of the project, a manual explaining how to replicate the system was produced and distributed to local farmers. On top of this CHO now provides micro-loans to encourage disadvantaged communities to build their own system.
The Next Project
Photo-Voltaic Energy
Currently the safe haven site is relying upon a diesel generator for its electricity supply, the organisation can only afford to run the generator for two hours each day. To improve this situation the project team would like to continue fund-raising for photo-voltaic cells which have great potential to provide a sufficient electricity supply for lighting and use of computers. The funding required to provide electricity within the school is £4,500, currently the project has £2500. The team will be looking to fundraise for the remaining amount.
Water Treatment
There are several freshwater ponds available as sources for drinking water within the safe haven site however following testing completed by the previous Cambodia project team the water is found to be contaminated. Due to the contamination water is currently purchased locally to be used as drinking water within the centre. It is possible to provide potable water using simple techniques which is the basis of the water treatment project. The project team will investigate what options there are for a cost-effective solution to water treatment. Once a technology has been decided upon, a design will be drawn up and a small team of engineers will travel to Cambodia during the summer of 2010 to construct the water treatment facility.
The project allows a number of students the opportunity to implement much of the theory of engineering that is taught at University and provide a beneficial service to an organisation who are thoroughly grateful for the involvement of Engineers Without Borders. Every project we carry out is designed so the theory can be taught to the organisation concerned allowing full understanding of the technology minimising the risk of disrepair and promoting ownership.
Meadows Marathon
Lack of clean drinking water is one of the major challenges facing developing countries today. EWB Edinburgh aims to design and install a water treatment system and solar panels for a large orphanage (100+) in Cambodia. By running for us, you can greatly help improve the lives of children who have suffered from child labour, prostitution and slavery and give them the start in life they deserve.
If you are aiming to help fundraise for the Cambodia Water Project please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Jack Barrie (
cambodiawaterproject@gmail.com)
to receive your sponsorship form and 10 digit code. This code is used to ensure that you run for Engineers without borders and is used during online registration on the Meadows Marathon website.