Today was our last day with Sam’s sister’s home. Throughout our stay this past week, we’ve had some of the best foods and experiences with the kids, Hamza and Hassan. We took out the time to hand over our gifts to them to thank them for all their generous hospitability during our stay. Hanging out with Hamza and Hassan was definitely fun and I hope we get to see them again in the near future. Shortly afterwards, we proceeded to Sam’s mother’s house to stay with her for our remaining days here in India. Once again, we were received very warmly by Sam’s family. Soon thereafter, our team called for two rickshaws and went to the school for our last visit to cover up a few remaining technical details. We tested the load on the system by flipping on the switches relating to fans and lights and determined that all classrooms were able to operate their fans and lights prior to tripping the circuit breaker. During this time, we also discussed the potential for future projects for the town of Rampur. This conversation ranged from wastewater projects to other solar installation projects. However, we immediately realized that existing needs must be identified first prior to project choice. As a result, we chose to call up a local Rotary International chapter and the Rampur Information Center to gauge various community needs for the town of Rampur. Conveniently, one of the Rotary board members personally visited our team at the school to discuss their current focuses and issues. This particular Rotary board primarily focuses on a local hospital that they run, but they also participate in emergency relief activities and other health-related aid, such as distribution of blankets and foods. Their expressed need related to the purchase of dialysis units, which was out of the scope of our organization unfortunately. We still took contact information so other Pittsburgh based organizations may be able to help their cause. During this meeting, we also brainstormed further engineering applications such as portable water filtration systems. These particular items exist in the form of “water buffalos”, or trucks that carry and power portable water filtration systems. Afterwards, our team returned to Sam’s mother’s home where we further discussed potential project topics, such as an erection of a green community center. Of course, if there is explicit need for a community center, we would be glad to look into this topic, however there is no point in pursuing solutions to problems that do not exist. In any case, during our stay, we also managed to watch an IPL match where the Delhi Daredevils played against the Kolkatta Knight Riders (Hamza’s favorite team). FYI, the KK riders won the match, much to Hamza’s excitement. Around 9:30PM, a representative of the Rampur Information center decided to visit us at our shared home to discuss Rampur needs. According to this man, local colleges exist with crumbling foundations and improper foundations due to poor maintenance. However, this particular need seemed to require only the know-how of a local handy-man rather than the use of a large student team and professional engineering mentors. We graciously declined and explained the nature of Engineers Without Borders. We will still be keeping our toes in the waters, but our main focus will rely on maintaining our connection with Symbiosis Public and making sure they can properly handle their newly acquired solar plant system. It’s been a long year, but I’m very pleased that the school can now run on solar and not rely on that old monster of a diesel generator.
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