UMD Public Health meets EWB: Public Health Moves Stones

Each and every day, the engineers never failed to surprise me with their complete dedication to the project to work as hard as they could for so long each day. They had recruited some local men to help with their work and it was so wonderful to watch them work together so seamlessly. Before our eyes we saw a mutually-respectful and supportive cross-cultural community grow. We, the public health team, would offer our help every day when we had a lull in our work during the day, and the engineers would always have little tasks for us to do! We helped carry gravel to mix into the cement, help hold rebar straight, carry materials into the classrooms for storage during the night, but our most important job was unwavering moral support. The commitment to the project and to each other built a team of engineers and local men which we were proud to be an occasional member of. More than the help we gave them in moving materials, they helped us to more deeply appreciate the context of our Public Health Without Borders mission: people helping people to overcome challenges with a shared understanding of humanity.