STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) - A group of engineering students at Oklahoma State University are changing lives in Central America. A water pipeline they helped design is giving a Guatemalan community easier access to clean water.
As everyone knows, clean and flowing water is critical to any community.
"I think it's an honor to be able to help these people,” OSU engineering student Avery Jones said.
Jones is one of several engineering students at the university, giving people that source of life.
"You look at it and you see how many lives that we're changing,” OSU engineering student Ronnie Walker said. "I mean, it's truly a blessing."
They’re in a chapter of “engineers without borders.” That’s a group that applys their classroom knowledge to help others. In this case, that means designing and building a water pipeline over 2,100 miles away in the rural Guatemalan town of El Rancho.
"We're building from the top of the mountain where they have a well and taking it down with clean water for the people,” OSU engineering student Colby Magee said.
Other university chapters designed three other pipelines too. All four of them span roughly 2 miles. Before this, residents walked several miles with jugs to get water. Sometimes, bacteria in that water made them sick. With this project, 64 households, or roughly 370 people, are connected to drinkable water.
"I had a few different conversations with one of the leaders of the community,” OSU engineering student Xander Rouk said. "He said it multiple times, this water is going to save lives."
Life changing work on both ends.
"How fortunate we are to have access to water whenever we want and just the little things,” Jones said.
The group said they’re not done yet.
"We high fived, we felt good,” OSU engineering student Sam Doerflinger said. “But the very next question is 'what can we do next?'"
The group told KFOR they are working on another project to extend the school building in that same town and build a computer room. They’re also working with the ALS Association of Oklahoma to find out what they can do to help people with that disease.
