DESIGN • TRAVEL • CONNECT • BUILD

WHO WE ARE
Rural isolation, or the inability to access essential resources such as hospitals, schools, and markets due to geographic barriers, directly contributes to global poverty. The mission of the Engineers in Action (EIA) Bridge Program and our University Chapter is to help these rurally isolated communities gain access to these essential resources with sustainable infrastructure, by harnessing local expertise and global partnerships. In addition to the physical bridges, we hope to inspire members of the community to continue building connections with neighboring communities.

The Cornell University Chapter of Engineers in Action is a student-run project team with the College of Engineering that works with the non-for-profit organization Engineers in Action to design and build pedestrian footbridges, WASH systems, and suspension bridges for rurally isolated communities.

SUMMER 2024 PROJECTS

This past summer of 2024, our team built the Jolitane footbridge in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Our team sent six Cornell students where they spent eight weeks turning designs into reality. Collaborating closely with local masons and community members, our team successfully erected a footbridge spanning the Mbuluzi River. This river is dangerous to cross all year round, but completely impassable during the rainy seasons, when floods can last nearly a week. There have been 10 injuries and 12 deaths sustained in the past 3 years due to these conditions. Our footbridge now provides a safer alternative for members of the community, and would help connect thousands of people to schools, clinics, markets, and maize fields that provide a majority of the community members with jobs.

In addition, we piloted a WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) project, where we installed pumps and distribution systems at Matfuntini Primary School. Six Cornell students worked on this project last summer with community members to bring clean groundwater to the school’s children and teachers. Having clean and safe water is a crucial human right and is essential for physical health and well-being. Our WASH system helps alleviate their daily stresses of accessing water.

SUMMER 2023 BRIDGE

In the summer of 2023, our team built the Mandlakhe bridge in the Kingdom of Eswatini. Our team sent seven Cornell students, for six weeks. Collaborating closely with local masons and community members, our team successfully erected a 50-meter suspended cable bridge spanning the Mhlanga River. This remarkable structure now provides vital access for more than 2,800 residents from the Mahlalini and Skhotseni communities to essential resources and opportunities, including clinics, schools, bus stops, maize fields, and community events.

SUMMER 2022 BRIDGE

After two years of not being able to travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our team finally completed another bridge in summer 2022. Over the two years where we didn't travel, we continued learning and designing bridges, and in the summer of 2022, our team sent five students to the Kingdom of Eswatini for six weeks. The team worked with the Boyane and Zombodze communities to build a 100 meter footbridge that crosses the Mtilane River, which will help over 2,000 people including 1,200 schoolchildren cross the river safely.

FUTURE PROJECTS

This year, we have been asked to take on another new project—a suspension bridge project. Compared to the suspended bridges we have built in the past, these bridges provide greater clearance over the water level, and will allow us to meet the needs of a wider range of sites. Suspension bridges are more technically challenging to design and construct, and will give our team an opportunity to learn new skills. Our team is looking forward to taking on this new project together with our local and professional partners.