NEWS FROM PAGE 1 HUNT


teer service organization based in Boulder, Colo., with 12,000 mem- bers in 250 U.S. chapters. Similar to the organization Doctors With- out Borders, Engineers Without Borders works in developing countries to provide potable water, bring renewable energy and supply sanitation. The local chapter, which began in 2005, has 50 members ini- tially focused on water projects in India and El Salvador, as well as the power generation for Mbita, an area that is home to 68,000 people, many of whom have HIV or AIDS. The “teach a man to fish” theory


is important to Engineers Without Borders’ mission, Willemin said. “The idea is that there is a trans- fer of knowledge from both student and professional engineers to com- munities, so we’re not just plopping down a solution. There is shared energy in the project,” Willemin said. “There is usually a sustainable component so the project will be able to operate and be maintained for some duration. So, for example, we don’t want to install a water fil- tration system and then a few years later there is no way for them to fix it or they’re stuck with equipment they don’t know what to do with.” Another key component, he is


said, that Engineers Without


Borders partners with a non-gov- ernmental organization (NGO) to ensure the engineers are not the only stakeholders in a project. For example, the group’s recent water distribution effort in Tijuana ended early because local political snafus prevented the volunteers from com- pleting it. “A project’s success is incred- ibly tied to how reliable the partner is,” Willemin said.


The Mbita community center came to the local chapter’s atten- tion when they were searching for available projects on the national


FROM PAGE 3 BRIEFS


Scatena Daniels introduced a new website designed by Elevator, a Carlsbad marketing design firm. For more information, visit scatena- daniels.com or call 232-0222.


Engineers Without Borders web- site, which solicits submissions that meet the organization’s guidelines. Dan Orao, an Mbita native who has lived in Michigan since 1968, had posted his request for an Engineers Without Borders team to install electricity at the 4,600-square-foot community center he built in his hometown. “The project was not plausible (without the addition of electric- ity),” Orao said. “Even with regular electricity, it would have just made it difficult to operate. The energy bill would have been too much in the long run.”


The San Diego Engineers With-


out Borders chapter decided to accept the challenge in 2009. After working on a detailed plan, Wille- min and six others flew to Kenya last June to investigate how they would install the solar system. “We determined the scope of work needed to change once we got there,” Willemin said. “There is an actual power line close to the build- ing, albeit very intermittent. It’s not uncommon for the power to go out four times a day. But we saw how a hybrid system could work and at much less cost.”


Rather than the $150,000 pure


solar solution, the group is design- ing a system that works off the power grid but includes batteries for when the grid fails. Meanwhile, solar panels will constantly feed the batteries, providing what Willemin called “grid-tied solar” for the build- ing at a cost of $60,000, including all equipment and installation. With a reliable source of elec- tricity on its way, Orao’s dream to open the community center will be a reality in early 2012. He said the opportunities that will come with it—such as Internet access—are numerous in a place where most people live off bartering and few ever leave their immediate sur- roundings. “We do have education there,


ach, Deputy Chief of District Three, said. Each District Three dialogue issue will feature a local drought- tolerant yard. The company will accept submissions including the address and photos of gardens. For more information, email ToddGlo- ria@sandiego.gov.


NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTTS IN HILLCREST The Hillcrest Business Associa- tion (HBA) and the Surfrider Foun- dation have partnerd to provide low cost ashtrays outside businesses for customers to help prevent ciga- rette butts from being pushed into storm drains.


“People think that keeping the


Rexford Drive resident garden won District 3 award for most drought- tolerant design this month.


WATER CONSERVATION GAR- DEN OF THE MONTH


The State of District 3 an- nounced winners of the Water Con- servation Gardens for the month of January 2011. In the last 18 months, residential gardens at Rexford Drive in Fairmont Park were re- landscaped with a variety of rocks and water-conscious plants. Each month, District 3 looks for homes that put effort into mak- ing their gardens with lower water usage.


oceans clean is just the job of the beach community, but all our storm drains end up in the sea so we have just as much responsibility as coast- al neighborhoods,” Benjamin Nich- olls, executive director of the Hill- crest Business Association, said. Businesses that sponsor an ash- tray will have their featured logo on the can. The ashtrays will be attached to street lights, signs and trashcans. Businesses who choose to participate pay $100, one-third of the cost, while the Surfrider Foun- dation will pay for the can and in- stallation. The HBA will empty the cans each week. To participate in the Sidewalk Ashtray Partnership, email Benjamin@hillcrestbia.org.


RECYCLE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE BY JAN. 23


“[It’s] not meant to be the biggest competition. It’s just meant to spread awareness in moving to- ward that way of living,” Katie Ke-


The 37th Annual Christmas


Tree Recycling Program, hosted by San Diego’s Environmental Services Department, will end on


Chris Willemin (seated) is an Engineers Without Borders member and North Park resident. Also shown, Anita Prasad (standing).


and the best students can go to college but for most young people there is nothing after high school,” he said. “So through the classes at the community center people might learn a skill and attain something they never would otherwise.” But even that aspect will require some education for locals, he said. While the villagers are eager for the center to open, they looked at him in disbelief when he told them what they could expect from the Internet.


“Most of our people are visual people. When I told them you can send mail through the Internet, they asked me who would deliver


Jan. 23. The program is accepting green trees as well as trees with fake snow but is not accepting artificial


trees, decorations, tree


stands or lights. All trees will be recycled into mulch and compost. The drop-off location serving Dis- trict Three is the Golden Hill Rec- reation Center, located at 2600 Golf Course Dr. For a complete list of other drop-off locations or more information, visit sandiego.gov/ environmental-services.


MID-CITY BUS RAPID TRAN- SIT STATIONS The Bus Rapid Transit line will


start service in 2012 with stations at University Ave. and El Cajon Blvd. Interested parties are welcome to a Mid-City Bus Rapid Transit Public Input Session on Wednesday, Jan. 26 from 5 to 8 p.m. The forum will be in Central Elementary School, located at 4063 Polk Ave. Councilmember, Todd


Gloria


encourages the community to re- view design alternatives for the sta- tions prior to Feb. 13. Documents for the project are available at the Kensington, Normal Heights Li- brary, located at 4121 Adams Ave., and the City Heights Weingart Branch Library, located at 3795 Fairmount Ave. and are also view- able at keepsandiegomoving.com/ home.aspx.


NORTH PARK ARTIST ON DIS- PLAY AT THE SDAD The San Diego Art Department (SDAD) premiered its latest exhibit this month titled “Retrospective,”


see Briefs, page 7


it. Even when I tried to explain it to them they said, ‘When I see it, I’ll believe it,’” Orao said with a laugh. Orao’s commitment to Mbita began in 1968 when townspeople pooled their resources to send him to the U.S.—first to finish high school and then to attend the Uni- versity of Michigan. Today he owns a credit-card processing business in Grand Rapids, where he spent years fund-raising for the communi- ty center through the soccer teams he coaches, plus local churches and the local Rotary Club. “Ninety percent of the funds (to build the community center) were from Michigan. The village provid-


ed for the land and labor,” he said. When Engineers Without Bor- ders agreed to take on the project,


see Hunt, page 9


San Diego Uptown News | Jan. 21-Feb. 3, 2011


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