UT Projects for Underserved Communities

[kcweijie]

Hey ChiefDelphi community,

We are Kevin Chen (Team 118, The Robonauts, 2012 Team Captain) and Allison Rich (Team 2881, Lady Cans, 2012 Dean’s List Finalist) and we are currently participating in Projects for Underserved Communities (PUC) at the University of Texas at Austin. PUC is a program in which students learn international engineering skills by managing, designing, and constructing projects in impoverished communities around the world. We are part of PUC 2013-14’s Central America Team which is composed of two projects: one in Costa Rica, the other in Nicaragua.

Team Costa Rica will be renovating an elementary school sports facility into a community recreational center. The renovated rec center will be a place for students and community members to participate in meetings, assemblies, sports programs, educational programs, and much more. The revenue generated by the rec center will be a source of income for the local community in which 30-40% of the population lives below the poverty line and a source of funding for the elementary school and its exemplary programs.

Team Nicaragua will be constructing a clinic in an area of Managua in which thousands of people are currently receiving medical care in a makeshift clinic since the last one was torn down. The local population in the area lives in what is considered to be a dump site in the capital city. This is an expensive, multi-stage project that is currently backed by several health organizations in Nicaragua and in the United States.

Team Central America is currently in the planning and fundraising stage of the project and would greatly appreciate any help that can be provided. We, as FRC alumni, would like to ask for your help in our search for technical advisors and funding. We are not certain if we can solicit funds from any of the members on this forum directly (can someone verify?), but for those of you who have gone on to full-time positions or have had internships, we would greatly appreciate any help you can offer in the way of a technical advisor or a corporate contact whom we can contact for support. We appreciate any help you can offer and hope to hear from all of you! Please feel free to contact us for more information. Thank you!

Kevin Chen, Team 118
kevin.chen.weijie@utexas.edu

Allison Rich, Team 2881
allison.rich@utexas.edu