Article for EWB’s University of Waterloo Chapter Newsletter

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Dear Readers,

Please enjoy this copy of an article that I have written for a newsletter at my home University. Consider yourselves included in the thanks expressed in the last paragraph.

Sarah Lewis

EWB-UW Chapter Newsletter Article

Feb 05 2007

My recent graduation, and my decision to apply for an Engineers Without Borders (EWB) overseas volunteer position have created a wave of very exciting events in my life. The challenge and responsibility of my placement with the Ghanaian government will be demanding, and at the same time I feel alive with hopes and fears for the year to come.

I’ve known that I will engage in international issues throughout my career since volunteering with EWB in Cameroon during my second year at the University of Waterloo. The dedication of my Cameroonian partners to the improvement of their communities despite enormous limitations is one of the big motivations behind this decision. It has been my great pleasure to share the story of our exchanges with the UW chapter over the past few years, and I hope that I’ve done something to return the generosity of African communities in welcoming me and teaching me so much about the challenges that exist for people outside of the ‘bubble’ of my Canadian life.

Since my experience in Cameroon I have asked myself the following questions over and over: What should I do, given that my actions impact the challenges that these communities face? How can I leverage my resources to contribute to the development of a more equitable world?

The next step for me in this questioning process is an EWB placement with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the Upper East Region of Ghana, West Africa. I feel that there will be great potential for me to learn from and contribute to international development through this partnership, which is the culmination of two years of EWB’s work. I’m also thrilled to continue sharing the fruits of this project with the University of Waterloo Chapter through our Working Partnership.

You may be asking, ‘What is a Working Partnership?’ Through this program the Waterloo Chapter will be supporting my work in Ghana financially, and in return I will communicate the progress of my work and my personal learning through phone calls, emails, and writing. I’m thrilled to have been invited to continue my relationship with the University of Waterloo and stay connected to the leadership here in my home community.

To all of you that I know at Waterloo, I can hardly thank you enough for taking me this far in my journey – I hope you will be able to continue learning with me as I step into a more responsible position within Engineers Without Borders. It is an opportunity that I could not imagine having prepared for without your support.

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