Humanitarian Engineering Program
The Humanitarian Engineering Program at Colorado School of Mines (CSM) provides future engineers with the opportunity to serve humanity by offering their knowledge to create sustainable engineering solutions in underserved parts of the developing world. CSM students have worked with the St. Denis community since 2007 and have engineered a rain catchment water system for the school as well as an interactive science curriculum based on local curriculum standards.
Makondo School Community Water Project
The
Makondo School Community Water Project will improve the
quality of health, sanitation, hygiene, and education of the
students attending St. Agatha Primary School and St. Denis
Senior Secondary School in Makondo. The project engineering,
schematic design, and project budget development has been a
collaborative effort between the Masaka District Water Engineer
and the Colorado School of Mines Humanitarian Engineering
Department, Golden, Colorado.
St. Denis Senior Secondary Water System: The concept design of the water system was developed by senior year engineering students at the Colorado School of Mines under the direction of Dr. David Munoz who specializes in ground water quality. This system will consist of a rainfall harvesting system and underground storage system. The rainfall harvesting system will consist of rooftop collection and conveyance to an underground storage cistern with a 150,000 L. capacity at St. Denis. This cistern will be powered by a solar pump.
St. Agatha Primary School Borehole and Storage Cistern: A deep borehole system will be developed and will be powered by a solar pump. This borehole will be located close to both school compounds and will be up to 100m.deep. The additional water supply that will be available through this borehole is expected to serve the water needs of St. Agatha and St. Denis. Two 10,000 L storage cisterns will be placed at St. Agatha and St. Denis with conveyance from the well to the cisterns. The project will also provide conveyance of additional water from the well to the St. Denis cistern.
Bio-Sand Filters: Both schools will be provided with Bio-Sand filters. The Bio-Sand filters are an easy and inexpensive filtration system that will ensure the students have ready access to clean drinking water.
Hand Washing Stations: Ten hand-washing stations will be provided to the schools that will be gravity fed from the above ground storage cisterns.
Science Curriculum Project
Students
from CSM have developed an interactive and enriching science
curriculum based on Uganda Ministry of Education and Sports
standards. Science education is highly prized and
emphasized in Uganda. However, the lack and expense of
science materials limits hands-on experimentation and the
discovery of the scientific process. With the help of a
computer-based interactive curriculum, St. Denis students and
teachers are able to create a virtual classroom that enhances
the understanding of scientific concepts. The CSM curriculum
team is made up of both students and teachers who have developed
a close relationship with St. Denis staff and administration in
order to tailor the curriculum to the specific needs of the
school and students.
