NDSEED

This project supports the summer experience of students enrolled in CE 45610 Engineering for International Development I. Students in this class have successfully partnered with rural Central American communities to construct eight footbridges over the last eight years with the support of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Bridges to Prosperity (B2P). Through this partnership, students experience how their skills as engineers can help to transform the lives of isolated rural communities, not just through the physical infrastructure they create but through the capacity, confidence and pride they gain through the cooperative process of realizing a major development project. This year, the students will immerse themselves in the community of Las Pencas, in western Nicaragua. As a supplement to their normal construction and community engagement activities, this year’s team will additionally explore the following question: How might we more intentionally develop the community’s individual and collective capacity to undertake development projects in the future?