Yale Engineers Without Borders Chapter Begins Second Project in Cameroon

In 2007, the Yale chapter of Engineers Without Borders made their inaugural trip to the village of Kikoo, Cameroon. In the years since, the Yale EWB team has worked with the Kikoo residents to build a gravity-fed water distribution system and develop a new sanitation system for the village. They completed their work last spring and were named the 2011 recipient of the EWB-USA Premier Project Award; this May, they returned to Cameroon both to monitor the status of their completed water system projects in Kikoo, and to begin assessment work for a water distribution project in the nearby village of Rohvitangitaa.

A member of the Kikoo community handing the EWB group's mentor, Dave, a gift from the community for all of EWB Yale's hard work in completing the water system. It is a hand-carved wooden clock.

The Yale EWB team landed in Douala, a coastal city, and drove 10 hours to Kikoo and Rohvitangitaa (usually shortened to Roh), near the city of Kumbo. They began their work by inspecting the water distribution system in Kikoo, gathering data on flow rates and water quality, as well as meeting with the Kikoo Water Committee and local non-governmental organization OK Clean Water to assess ongoing health and water sanitation training for the village.

The Yale EWB team in front of the Kikoo sign.

In Roh, the team met with the Roh water committee, developing a memorandum of understanding between the village and the EWB team to lay the foundation for a successful partnership. The students conducted health and topological surveys, assessing both the community’s health and the existing water system. Their pre-implementation health survey, conducted by visiting most of the households in Roh with the help of a translator, will act as a benchmark for measuring the health and sanitation practices of the community.

Part of the EWB team doing topographical surveying in Roh.

The Yale EWB group will be traveling back to Roh for about the next five years – watch this space for more updates on the Roh water distribution project!