UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies

Meet Luis, he was the most shy and one of the smallest of all the school kids but he was my favorite! Like many of the other kids he loved to run around and play soccer with us in the school yard. After a long game all of the kids would go up to the sinks to get a drink of water and cool down. Watching the school kids drink straight from the tap made me realize even more how important it was for them to have clean drinking water flowing through the pipes because “agua es vida”. Water is life. The colorful mural in the school yard painted by our team last summer stands as reminder of how import access to potable water is.

Four weeks in a rural community was tough. We showered with ice cold water, hiked 30 minutes to get to our construction site each day and another 30 minutes to get to town for dinner. Despite the many ways in which living in a small rural community was not as comfortable as I am used to at home, I had the time of my life! We built great friendships with our Peace Corps Volunteers, community members and many of the children. I could not be more grateful for the UC Davis Blum Center and Engineers Without Borders for allowing me the opportunity to work abroad and further develop my engineering skills.

On our last day in the community of La Huaylla, everyone came out for the inaugural celebration of the reservoir. In the back of the picture you can see the brick stoves and large pots the women of the community set up. They spent all morning cooking up a delicious meal for hundreds of people (meal featured in my lap). There was music, dancing, ice cream and even a toast made out to our team for all of our efforts in helping improve their water supply. Even the school kids made it out to celebrate during their lunch hour. It was a beautiful sunny day in La Huaylla and a day that will always have a warm place in my heart.