Engineers Without Borders

Kenya Project Meeting 6-30-09

July 2, 2009 at 11:07 pm | In Meeting Minutes | Comments Off

Attended:

Adam, Justin, Daniel, Aparna, Birdie, Courtney, Josh, Scott, Andy, Kendra

Saturday meeting with professionals

 * First time meeting mentors in person
 * Went over what we want with assessment trip what goals we want
 * Andy seemed to be a better fit with the assessment trip
  o Waiting to talk advisory board about TAC to make this official
   + Don’t believe this will be an issue
   + Gordan thought that it would be a good idea
  o Why Andy would be a better choice
   + More community experience
    # Year in Honduras
    # Andy will be better for assessment than for implementation
    # Has organized student groups, adult groups, volunteer work, and community organizing
    # More aware of cultural sensitivities
 * We won’t be able to work with EWB Kenya so great benefit
   + Mt hood college teaches in engineering
   + Mechanical engineering degree
   + 1 year experience consulting
   + For one year worked in Honduras, volunteer group coordinator, talked to international volunteers to work with people in country
    # Few hundred Hondurans, and a few from states
    # Water, health, sanitation, education projects
   + Worked in construction
   + For assessment trip we will be getting a lot of data, Andy has sufficient technical skills to get the data
    # Has great experience with getting data for development projects
   + For the technical projects Gordan will be great help
    # Maybe be PE for first implementation
 * Now 4 people going, 3 students and then Andy

Status on different assignments

 * Justin contactsed with Dixon, CPR and first aid
  o Hasn’t heard back from email will go in tomorrow to check and see
  o Anyone can attend CPR and first aid training
  o On August 1st classes,
   + Meet all guidelines for a special group session
    # More than 5 people
    # Make a special call for CPR and first aid
 * 4 hours each, and $30 each
 * Have all people who are going to Leyla attend and alternatives
   + Andy can’t attend August 1st
    # Should be fine if he doesn’t have training, if all others have it
 * Adam, GPS, GIS setting up
  o Haven’t heard back
   + Email again
   + Other ways of contacting?
  o Want
   + Access to units
   + Basic workshop on how to use it
  o From forestry department
   + Emailed person who has done it in the past
    # In past
 * 4 hours on a Saturday
 * Show how to use, and in field training
  o Andy: may have access to GIS units at Mt. Hood through forestry department
 * Courtney, Water testing kit
  o West coast president of EWB
   + Emailed Courtney, asked to call him back
  o Equipment took to El Salvador
   + Some things were missing when taken
    # This problem now fixed
   + Birdie
    # Look for this in water: Alkalinity, pH, coloform bacteria
 * EWB kit has everything for this
  o Contact Dr. Anna Harding
   + Health advisor for EWB
   + Tells us what impacts peoples health
   + And what we should be looking for
  o keep connection with EWB West Coast vice president
   + But talk to Anna Harding
  o Going to have any training for water testing kits?
   + Hopefully get a week before travel
   + Do training with kit
    # Have person lined up to help with training
    # Kit should have some documentary
 * Birdie still has instructions
 * Willamette water testing
 * Banquet
  o We will be having a banquet in Portland
  o Sometime in February
   + Around Valentines day
    # Called Kenya Love
    # Will people be able to attend valentines day weekend
 * Don’t do Valentine’s day
  o Maybe Saturday before Valentine’s day
   + PSU not available that weekend
    # Keep in contact
 * Bigger venue
 * May be able to give it to us for a cheap cost
 * Fills up pretty fast
 * February 7th, 21st, 22nd available
  o 21st sounds best
 * Have to use their food services?
  o Haven’t heard anything about this
 * Email EWB-PSU pres and VP
 * Cost about the same than look at different building
  o Look more professional if not at university
   + Banquet on Sunday issue
    # More stay at home day, so Saturday would be better
  o Sherahay = party in Swahali
  o Still looking for a venue
  o Target audience
   + Invitations
    # El Salvador banquets
 * Main list post to
  o EWB Portland professionals list serv
  o OSU student foundation
   + List of all donors to university
    # Considering ad space to general public
 * How would we be go about doing this
  o Call Oregonion and other newspapers
   + Newstip
   + Article
    # Compelling enough argument to get people come
   + Letters to the editor
   + Local newspapers list local events
    # Post our event with this
    # Mercycorp list our events with theirs
    # Rotaray
 * Recruiting people who are service orientated
 * Rotary projects
  o Have contacted Willsonville rotary in the past
  o Have Corvallis contacts
  o Corvallis rotary already sponsors international projects
   + Have presented to them in past
   + Make connection with Corvallis rotary NOW!
    # Kendra talking to rotary contacts in Corvallis area
 * Aparna send contact info and how much contacted
   + Corvallis has several rotary groups
   + Make presentation to Corvallis rotary
    # Perfect time to contact, make connection now to make them concrete donors
   + Does Kenya have rotary clubs?
    # A couple 30 miles from Leyla
    # Partner
    # Found at rotary92.org
 * Andy may know people who can get us in touch with people from Portland rotary
    # Engineering societies in Portland
 * ASCE
 * Oregon professional engineers
 * SWEE
 * ASME
 * AIChE
  # When to send invitations?
 * September at latest
 * Send save the dates when have venue set
 * Send out something post holidays
  o Like January
   + New year’s slogan
    # Ethiopa on different calander, this last year 2000
    # Who do we want to contact, need a plan
    # Contact early so can announce at meeting before banquet
 * Send one page summary to spread awareness
 * Build relationship with person in group that will spread it on
 * Need to make sure have everything together so we don’t look sloppy
  o Generate list first of organizations that we want to contact
  o Have list before hand
   + So don’t double contact
  o Have list of contacts together by next week
   + Green empowerment
   + Solar world
   + Pure water.org
    # 47 member all water people
   + Start professional group contacts list on google docs (Kendra)
    # Have list of donors
    # Add to this list
    # Database of personal donations
    # Banquet inquiries will be different this first time
    # Aparna send donor list
  o How big of a venue?
   + For 150 people
  o Other venue options
   + ECO trust building
    # Conference room that may fit everyone
    # $250
    # Andy try and get contact info

South Africa what to look for in water, website

* Sent it out

Grants

* Justin
 o Western union foundation
  + Tend to stress on mexico, india, and philipines
   # But have done projects in Kenya
   # Deadline for leatter of interest end of August
* How to submit letter
 o Mail, email? Waiting for reply
* Wait to send off any letters
 o Make sure compelling
 o Where everyone is involved, done through google docs
* Birdie
 o Big organizations, like shell, wal*mart
  + Need some help
  + Found some green companies
  + Adam found coca-cola grant, Africa foundation
   # Water stewardship
* Publicity materials to send to grants, banquets
 o Have one page summary, need more
 o Letter of intent, letter of interest
  + Mikkel post to google docs
* Courtney
 o Need to contact to get parent organizations
  + Will contact Smaller foundations to get us in touch with larger foundations money

Aparna sent pictures to Mark in Leyla

* Follow up with Mark, and Leyla community
 o Mark has good idea of what he is going to be doing there
 o Ask him to do take pictures of community, already taken pictures of who we will be staying with and housing situation
  + Ask to take pictures of landscape, river and such, don’t know what we will be dealing with

Wiki

* Kendra send out more info, and instructions

Newsletter?

* Post along with banquet invitations
* Have more participation with local area
* Online blog to have public know about what we are doing
 o Wordpress supports blogging atmosphere
  + OSU hosting
   # Will not have internet access in Leyla
* Journals in Leyla
* If someone takes an internet capable phone than can
* Tanzania peace corp blogs through blackberry
* Send updates to people who have donated

Make list of what we need to do at assessment

* Start this on google docs (Aparna)
* Can make google account with non google email
 o Send Aparna gmail accounts if we want invitation sent to that

When will we be contacted by board for TAC

* Received confirmation that received TAC
* Call TAC head tomorrow

To many emails?

* Send more information?
 o Yes!

Safety

* In country
* Adam working on it will have more next week
* Bordering tribes, more NE region
* More towards West and Tanzania has safety issues
* Virtual tourists website where can ask questions to people who are in area or who have traveled there

Notes

* Links work for some not for others
* Post minutes on Kenyan EWB website
 o Post documents under
 o Download document
* Uploading problems
* Can’t copy and paste from word into html
 o Solution: Copying from word to notpad then to website
 o repost this way (Aparna)

Da Vinci days

* people have signed up
 o Kendra
 o Dan
 o Michille adlong
 o Adam
 o Justin
 o Courtney
 o Carl
 o Josh
 o Daniel
* Sunday: noon to 5,
* Saturday: 10-6
* Aparna not in town that weekend
 o Coordinator
  + Kendra
   # Look into setting up on Friday
   # Activity
* Have people carry water for a distance, have hands on thing to do at booth, have people under severity
   # Materials?
* Publications, have one page summary, anybody else want anything taken
* Representation from entire club
* Aparna send info and publications to Kendra
* Canopy (chairs and table (want two then let them know) taken care of)
    + Adam will help

Kendra back in Corvallis Thursday

EWB fun night on Saturday with Aparna in Portland