OUR MISSION & VISION
We are leaders. We stand 12,000 strong. With 350 projects in over 45 developing countries, Engineers Without Borders USA has changed the lives of millions of people around the world.
Our VISION is a world in which the communities we serve have the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs, and that our members have enriched global perspectives through the innovative professional educational opportunities that the EWB-USA program provides.
Our MEMBERSHIP consists of professionals and students from a variety of professions including engineering, public health, anthropology and business. Through its projects and programs, EWB-USA provides innovative professional educational opportunities that provide a global perspective. We are passionate people, with over 250 dedicated chapters, including university chapters on more than 180 campuses throughout the United States.
Our MISSION -- EWB-USA supports community-driven development programs worldwide by collaborating with local partners to design and implement sustainable engineering projects, while creating transformative experiences and responsible leaders.
EWB-USA has chosen the delivery of smaller scale infrastructure projects within an overall community program framework as its program delivery model. At its core, the EWB-USA model is rooted in practical engineering solutions. However, in order to be successful, program designers must consider a wide range of inputs from the socio-cultural dimensions of the community to local project ownership and other requirements for long-term project viability. EWB-USA programs are full partnerships with a host community and one or more local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). EWB-USA members train local community members and local NGOs to successfully monitor and maintain the projects. It is these partnerships which form the basis of a long-term relationship in order to assure the basic infrastructure needs of the community are met and will remain sustainable long after direct chapter involvement ends.
Our PASSION is to make a difference. We are the emerging leaders on your campus, in your office, within your community, your neighbor, your son or daughter, YOU!
Learn more about EWB-USA and our Strategic Plan.
By becoming a member of EWB-USA, you are joining a network of thousands of volunteers committed to making a difference in the lives of those around the globe. Get started now and be a part of the global effort. Become a member today!
OUR HISTORY
The story is simple and inspiring. It was 2000, in a Boulder, Colorado backyard. Two men, Angel Tzec, a landscaper and representative of the Belize Ministry of Agriculture and Bernard Amadei, a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder met by chance and a friendship born. Small talk led to big change. Tzec invited his new friend, Dr. Amadei to visit his village in San Pablo, Belize, which was desperately in need of clean water.
There was no electricity, running water or sanitation. Dr. Amadei was stunned to see little children carrying water all day long from a nearby river. "I knew that, as a civil engineer, there had to be something I could do." Was it fate? Or just a prime example of how an emerging leader comes to life?
Amadei returned with eight University of Colorado-Boulder students and Denis Walsh, a civil engineering expert from Boulder, Colorado. By working together with the local community, this team installed a clean water system powered by a local waterfall. Simple, sustainable and low-cost, the entire project was completed for $14,000. As he harnessed the power of water, Dr. Amadei decided to harness the power of professional and student engineers to complete similar low-tech, high-impact projects in other developing countries. It was a success and the beginning of Engineers Without Borders USA.
Since its incorporation in 2002, EWB-USA has grown from approximately eight engineering students and a civil engineering professor to an organization of over 12,000 students, faculty and professionals. Today, EWB-USA's membership continues to grow, limited only by the organization's infrastructure and ability to ensure the quality and sustainability of the community programs.
