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The community of Batey Santa Rosa has three main problems: economics,
housing, and human waste disposal. The only jobs available are working
on nearby plantations or selling merchandise to other members of the
community; because of this, there is a severe lack of income. Without
money, the community members cannot improve their quality of life and
are vulnerable to emergency situations where extra funds are necessary
for survival. Most of the community’s current latrines
were built in 1978 by FUSABI, and around half of them have lasted. However, few latrines
have been built recently to accommodate the increase in population, and the community members
have very limited numbers of ways to get the resources to construct more latrines,
as well as limited design knowledge. Already, this has led to some members of the
community being forced to defecate on the ground, spreading disease. Batey Santa
Rosa has been listed by the BRA as one of local communities with the highest rates
of illness, and as more latrines are needed, this problem will worsen. Cases of ringworm,
parasitic amoeba, and roundworm have all been reported in the youth of the community, and
can all be spread through the ingestion of feces. This phase of project justice involves
designing a latrine that is inexpensive and fixes the problems of their current design.
Constructing latrines will prevent a drastic decrease in the health and the food supply
of the community while allowing more money to be put to better use elsewhere. This task
can be accomplished relatively quickly and involves excavation, building simple structures, and roofing.
On August 19-29th, our chapter traveled to Batey Cinco Casas in order
to monitor the roof implemented the previous fall, and to implement the septic tank that we
investigated during the previous asssessment trip. The travel team consisted of
four students from Rose-Hulman as well as a faculty adviser and a professional project
mentor. Everything went with with the construction of the septic tank and the piping network,
but the hurricane and rain everyday did waylay us and cause the end date to be pushed a week back.
BRA was able to keep working beyond our departure and completed everything successfully.
Dominican Republic 2011 Project page.
On February 25 - March 4th, our chapter traveled to Batey Cinco Casas in order
to monitor the roof implemented the previous fall, make any fixes needed, and to acquire
the information needed to implement a new septic system. The travel team consisted of
four students from Rose-Hulman as well as a faculty adviser and a professional project
mentor. All of the surveying went well and a new technical advisor was established. He
was able to help us retrieve information dealing with soil permeability and the current
septic system. For more information, be sure to check out the
Dominican Republic 2011 Project page.
On August 9th - 21st, our chapter traveled to Batey Cinco Casas to implement
our design for a hurricane and earthquake roof for the medical clinic. The travel
team consisted of five students from Rose-Hulman as well as a faculty adviser and a
professional project mentor. We were also accompanied by three members from Architecture
for Humanity. The trip was a smashing success. The roof was completed on time with the
invaluable assistance of the local workers and the members of Architecture for Humanity.
For more information, be sure to check out the the
Dominican Republic 2009/2010 Project page.
During the summer of 2008, a team of seven students and one faculty member traveled
to Obodan, Ghana in order to implement the projects the club spent more than a year
engineering. While in country, the delegation was able to present an improved business
plan for the Brooder House built in 2006 as well as complete
a Training Center. For more information, be sure to check out the
Obodan 2008 Project page.
EWB-RHIT meets every Wednesday at 7:15pm in O229. Everyone is welcome to attend. Our next meeting will be at the
beginning of the next school year.
For more information, contact presidents
Alex Morelli, or Ryan Oliver.
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