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Nov

18

Silent Auction 2012 Wrap-Up

By ewbexec

We successfully held our 8th Annual Silent Auction “Nimwela” on Friday, November 9th! We raised over $1800 for our partnership with with the Naluja Community in Zambia! It was a great way for us to let everyone know what we’ve been up to these last couple of months and about our trip over the summer and we had a great time with many of the students, staff, alumni, and faculty members attending.

We had many exciting items up for auction, including:

  • “Cookie of the Month” by Professor Stormy Attaway
  • Tickets to Disney on Ice at TD Garden
  • After Work Pool Party from Jillian’s/Lucky Strike Boston
  • Weekend Stay at the Liberty Hotel in Boston
  • Authentic Zambian Items, including tea sets, baskets, and jewelry

… and much more! We also had an exciting keynote speaker in Julie Herlihy, who is currently working as an Assistant Professor in International Health and Pediatrics at Boston University’s Center for Global Health & Development (CGHD). Julie is a board-certified physician and has worked in Boston, Liberia, and Zambia. Dr. Herlihy has also worked as a volunteer school teacher in Zimbabwe. She is an absolute inspiration and we thank her for taking the time out of her busy schedule to speak at our Silent Auction! For more information, check out her profile. Julie talked about her experiences working in Africa, as well as Project Mwana (which our antenna project is based off of), and the need for and potential from more integration and collaboration between doctors and engineers in order to increase health care standards.

The evening was a lot of fun. In addition to great auction items and an inspirational figure in Julie, we were able to hear our Zambia travel team speak. They spoke of the conditions they found in the Naluja Community during the summer, the work they’ve been able to do so far, and what we hope to accomplish in the next year and beyond.

We heard not only about Project Mwana, which our project is based on, but also about the water quality conditions and how the Naluja Clinic runs. The travel team had some fun stories for us about how everyone received a Zambian name, a Nalujan kid was able to win a slingshot off one of our travelers, and how there were even a couple of marriage proposals! It was a great way to reconnect our Silent Auction with what we’re trying to achieve in Naluja. For more information about our project, check out our website or EWB-USA profile.

Thank-You! This could not have happened without your support.

We would like to thank our awesome Fundraising team, and our Fundraising Chair James Parsons and Silent Auction guru Saana McDaniel of the BU Mechanical Engineering Department in particular. Everyone put forth a lot of time and effort as well, and were integral to making this event successful!

Lastly, but certainly not least, we would like to thank all who attended, in addition to our supporters and donors. We could not have done it without you! Check out the full list here.

Check out more photos of our Silent Auction on our facebook page!

Nov

11

A Place to Stand

By ewbexec

"Give me a place to stand and I will move the Earth."

These are the words of Archimedes, a famous mathematician, engineer, and inventor who lived in 3rd century BC. He was referring, of course, to the "Law of the Lever" and that, with a long enough lever and with enough strength, even the heaviest objects could be moved -- the Earth included.

Since Archimedes first put these words down, they've been repeated often, in the speeches of politicians, scientists, great literary minds, you name it. They've been used in the context of revolutions, presented to graduating classes of students, politicians' speeches, etc.

There's a good reason these words have been used so frequently. It's because they're true! We've always had the tools (the "levers") to move the Earth and make a difference.

At no point in time has this been more true than present day, in which the world population numbers 7 billion individuals, the fastest computers have peak speeds of 20 petaflops per second, and the processing power in the average cellphone today is greater than the Apollo computers involved in the first moon landing. The point is, there is such great potential in so many areas and a large number of resources and opportunities available!

At a time when such incredible technological innovations and scientific advances are available, when there is so much valuable human capital to make a genuine and positive impact, and when resources are available, it seems preposterous that so many of the other 7 billion individuals live without the basic amenities to ensure their very survival. This feeling only increases when the disparity of living conditions, access to amenities, etc., is taken into context.

This is one of the topics we've recently covered during our "Common Ground" sessions. As students, we have great opportunities and resources. Many of our group members agreed with the idea that it's our responsibility, our duty, our obligation to pass on some of the tools (the "levers") that we've been given access to and knowledge of to others.

Change cannot occur through one individual, however. We doubt that Archimedes, as brilliant as he was, would ever be able to move the Earth using a lever. However, his contribution of this idea was just as important, because it put into motion the idea that such a widespread collaborative effort (a longer lever and greater strength, if you will) would be necessary to truly make a difference. Together, we can become the lever that sets this motion in change in the Naluja Community.

We can move the Earth! Figuratively, of course. It would never do for the Earth to shift from its orbit.

More Info: The picture (top left) was taken from the EWB-USA Columbia University Chapter's Morocco Project, where they were able to build a chapter suspension bridge and connect two sides of the community.