Our interdisciplinary team is comprised of a unique combination of graduate and undergraduate students studying nursing, agricultural economics, food science, engineering and microbiology. Each team member is able to utilize his or her distinct view and educational background when trying to solve the global issue of people lacking access to affordable clean water.
The purpose of this project is to provide communities in the Dominican Republic with the means to address their lack of clean water access. Water treatment systems are designed to yield safe, affordable drinking water, support proper sanitation and hygiene, and provide profitable business opportunities. We aim to establish regimented and sustainable strategies that can easily be modified to address water needs specific to each unique community in developing countries.
So far, our team has built one water treatment system in Las Canas, a rural community in the Dominican Republic. This system provides clean water for free to the children attending a local school. Our work with this community continues as we assist community leaders in structuring business and distribution plans as well as educating community members on clean water practices and general health education.
This year we have entered the next phase of our project that includes expanding our work into 3 neighboring communities. Our team has begun laying the groundwork for our next water treatment system; however, we lack the funding to travel to the Dominican Republic to kick off our next system implementation at the end of this semester.
In May, our team is planning to travel to our next community, La Torre. It is vital to our project to have team members travel and work with community members on-site. During this trip our team will collect information, conduct business model workshops, host health education sessions, and connect with community members on a personal level. Our presence in these communities will provide motivation and resources to the local people and will help build momentum for the project overall. Your contribution will help fund our vital presence to facilitate our ongoing project to provide clean water for all!
After the trip, we will send you a video from the project team and Dominican school children.
For donating $500, we will invite you to join us for a luncheon on campus before we leave!
For our most esteemed donors, we will invite you to join not only our class, but also Deans of participating colleges for a luncheon on campus. You will also receive a video from the project team and Dominican school children.