Fadila Zidani
Summer 2019 Engagement Scholarship Recipient
Humanitarian work has always been a major interest of mine, so has civil engineering. Given the opportunity to engage in both activities at once was without a doubt a chance I did not want to let pass by. Thankfully, the engagement scholarship allowed me to be a member of the Engineers Without Borders' travel team without having to stress about the expenses of the trip.
The team traveled to a community just south of Filakit Gregera in Ethiopia for three weeks during the month of May and June 2019. We were able to work with the community to implement the plans we worked on during the scholastic year. Together we were able to lay a pipeline down extremely rough terrain that will be used to pump water up a steep hill to a field where the irrigation water is needed. We laid the foundation for a concrete pad and built the form for the pump house. We completely repaired the reservoir that will be utilized to store the water that is used to irrigate the crops. And we prototyped a solar cooker. But most importantly, we strengthened our relationship with the community, which will allow us to keep working together in the future. If you would like to learn more about what the UMN chapter of Engineers Without Borders does, please visit our website: ewb-umn.org.