HELP Piura, Peru!

I am a sophomore at Brigham Young University (BYU) majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Within this major, the application that I am most interested in is humanitarian engineering. Because of this interest, I became involved in a club called Global Engineering Outreach (GEO) at BYU this year. Through this club, I went on a trip to a Navajo Indian Reservation in Southern Utah last October, where we helped build houses for elderly Navajos without homes and installed solar panels to power water pumps that could provide people with running water. I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent working on the reservation, and I felt that I had confirmed the purpose for my future career.

After researching all of the study abroad options offered at BYU, I realized that none of them exactly fit the path I wanted to take. I decided to look for a summer internship that would allow me to work in the field of humanitarian engineering. While I was searching online for opportunities, I received an email through GEO about an organization called HELP International that was looking for engineering interns to go to another country and build what they call Soilets. In many third world countries, there is no system for the disposal of human waste. More often than not, the waste ends up in the water source that the people use as drinking water. This lack of sanitation is the cause of many diseases and many deaths in these impoverished areas. The Soilet is an outhouse designed to filter the waste using natural materials and cement, and then decompose the waste using earthworms. For more information, there is a great video posted on help-international.org called "Saving the Earth with Earth Worms." This opportunity seemed like the perfect fit and an answer to my prayers.

So, I applied for and received the internship, and this summer I will be travelling to the distant land of Peru to a small community called Piura. I will be the project lead for the Soilets, and I will be in charge of convincing the NGOs in Peru to work with us, as well as acquiring supplies, funding, and finding people to help with the building. As a volunteer, I am paying my own way, and I am also paying a large amount for the project I am working on. My goal is to try to fundraise 2,000 dollars to help with this project. If you are willing and able to donate to this cause, please send a check to HELP International with my name on the memo line. Send to   

  

        HELP International

        455 N. University Avenue #212

        Provo, Utah 84601

I plan to keep this blog as current as possible throughout the summer- uploading pictures and updating on the project progress and the crazy adventures I'm sure I will have. Feel free to donate any time throughout the summer, and even if you are unable to give, I would really appreciate your prayers in behalf of me and my efforts in Piura. 

Have a great summer!

-Melanie