Engineers Without Borders-USA

Carrera is a small rural community in the northern highland region of Ecuador in the state of Pichincha. Located near the volcano of Cayambe (named after the municipality in which it resides), the community has a population of around 2000 people all of whom speak Spanish and/or Kichwa, the indigenous language of the area. EWB-OSU is currently working with community members and leaders on a project to support the construction of two additional classrooms at the local school either as a second story on top of an existing school building or as a completely new structure. The school does not presently have an adequate number of classrooms to serve its student population so children of different grade levels must share a single classroom. The community wants to solve this issue to promote and improve educational capacity and quality for its students.

The project was adopted in the spring of 2021 and work on it began that fall. In July 2022, a team of six student chapter members and a mentor traveled to the community to determine the feasibility of moving forward with the project and for preliminary data collection. The assessment trip consisted of technical testing of the site and of one of the existing structures on top of which a second floor was proposed to be added, conducting community member surveys and gathering feedback, and establishing relationships with stakeholders. After evaluating all of the information, the team decided that the chapter could continue with the projects and move on to the next steps.

In winter of 2024, structural reinforcements to the first floor were completed by our in-country partners. Currently, student members are working on designing a second story. Tasks include comparing various materials, resources, methods, etc for the structural design. Additionally, the EWB-OSU chapter is also working to create a site plan for the school to aid the community in making efficient use of the campus space and prepare for future project work. We plan to implement the second story of the school in the summer of 2025. We are excited to continue developing our relationship with community members in Carrera and support the design and construction of a safe, learning space for the school children.