A Vacation with a Difference
By Ruedi Tobler, PE
As engineers, many of us have lives that are satisfying – we have interesting work that provides the necessities of life. Those of us in the developed world are truly fortunate compared to the circumstances of much of the world’s population.
I find that I appreciate what we have even more when I’m able to “give back” and help some of the world’s less fortunate people. I’ve been able to do this through “volunteer vacations” that apply the electrical and other engineering skills I’ve been able to develop, on projects in the developing world.
While these projects may involve more discomfort than would be found at a typical vacation spot, I find that the challenges help me appreciate more what my life at home has to offer.
Participating in short-term projects in the developing world is also an opportunity to reinforce some of the design skills I learned in school but which my present work does not provide much of a chance to practice. Some of the work has a distinctly practical bent – such as a project in Nicaragua that involved helping pull wires.
Over the years, I’ve been part of design teams in many parts of the developing world in Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Fiji.
For example, in January and February 2010, I was on a one-week trip to the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo to help design a school, clinic, conference center, library and other buildings to replace structures destroyed in a volcanic eruption. The team of 12 came from the USA, Canada and Korea. We met with our client (a local community of Baptist churches), surveyed the site and then in a one-week flurry of activity did the basic design for several buildings.
My role in this project was to design the electrical system, taking into account the realities of the supply available in that part of the world. On our final day, we gave a presentation to members of the church organization.
Projects such as this, mostly with Engineering Ministries International (eMi; see www.emiworld.org), are a chance for me to express my Christian faith. Many of the professionals on eMi teams have a commitment to Christianity, but this is not a requirement for joining an eMi team.
In deciding on which projects to become involved in, I tend to select geographic areas where I speak a language in common with the local people – such as Spanish in much of Latin America, French in francophone Africa, or English in some of the Caribbean and Anglophone Africa. That way, I’m able to communicate with and get to know the people my work is intended to help. However, skill with languages isn’t necessary – many eMi team members are able to fully contribute with just English.
“Vacations with a purpose” such as this are a good way to develop one’s engineering skills and also to help people who are most able to benefit from what our profession offers.
Ruedi Tobler PE is a Honolulu-based electrical engineer born and raised in Switzerland.
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