The lack of a clean water source in Kipingi, a small town in southwestern Kenya, requires women and children to walk several kilometers to the nearest water pump. At times, children have been forced to drop out of school to provide water for their families. Those unwilling to spend this time retrieving water dig holes to create their own "wells" in the village, which can easily become contaminated, making conditions such as diarrhea commonplace throughout the town.
Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering Leadership Projects worldwide, a student-run organization, aims to end such situations. Through sustainable development, the group seeks to provide basic infrastructure, water, sanitation and energy to communities in developing countries.
President of HELP, Michael Bolger Th'05, said that what sets HELP apart from the many organizations with similar goals, however, is the extent to which it is involved with its projects.
"HELP is special because it's not just about fundraising, it's about actual hands-on projects," Bolger said. "Students design the projects, travel to the country and actually implement the appropriate technology so that the people in need can directly benefit."
The group started its first project in the summer of 2005, when it brought clean water to the town of Nyamilu, in Kenya. Despite the success of the project, team members realized just how difficult such projects are to complete.
"It was difficult cooperating with the government of Kenya," Sandy Beauregard Th'07 said. "It seemed they wanted a bribe from us, which we just weren't in a position to give."
Eleven members of the group will participate in service projects this summer, located in Kenya, Rwanda or Tibet. In Kenya, the group will work to improve water systems in two towns, while in Rwanda an environmentally friendly bio-gas system will be implemented and will fuel activities like cooking. The group that is traveling this summer is composed of five graduate and six undergraduate students, including three freshmen.
Nick Edwards '10, HELP's Project Developer, will travel to Kipingi this summer to install a piping system that will bring water to selected parts of community.
"These developments are very important, the communities are really in need," Edwards said. "We're helping people who don't have the resources to help themselves."
To raise funds for this year's projects, HELP is in the midst of a fundraising campaign, with a stated goal of $50,000. The group has sold pizza on Webster Avenue during Winter Carnival and last Saturday held a "Battle of the Bands" at Ramunto's. The group's biggest event will occur over Green Key weekend.
"It's called the Green Key Block Party and there will be a bungee run, gladiator jousting, a dunk tank and a fantastic band with New Orleans music legends," Bolger said. "And possibly sumo wrestling."
The group was initially created as a Dartmouth chapter of Engineers Without Borders -- a nationwide organization with similar goals -- but they soon found that the bureaucracy of EWB meant that they could not undertake as many projects as they wished.
After returning from his project in Nyamilu, Kenya in the summer of 2005, Bolger decided that what the organization needed was more freedom.
"When I first came back to Dartmouth I tried to capitalize on the interest of students and donors on the success of the Kenya project," Bolger said. "However, when we filed for a new project, they said 'No, we have nothing available for you.'"
In the summer of 2006, under the guidance of Bolger, the group renamed itself Dartmouth HELP worldwide. HELP members are still registered with EWB, and can undertake projects through this organization. As an independent organization, Bolger explained, HELP allows it members the freedom to choose their own projects.
