[mlangille]

Hey McMaster!

It’s that time of year again, MSU Presidentials and this year you will have the chance to vote on a referendum that if passed will provide the McMaster Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) with a 35 cent student fee. This fee would fund an overseas volunteering program available to all McMaster Undergraduates.

EWB is development NGO (non-governmental organization) that works both in Canada and Africa on sustainable ways to eradicate extreme poverty.

In Canada:

We focus on educating young people on poverty related issues and the complexities faced when trying to have a meaningful and lasting impact in developing countries. We work towards political, citizen and media engagement while advocating for more effective foreign aid policies that promote accountability, creativity, and transparency within Canada as a donor country.
(Example: EWB Canada played a large role in Canada’s decision to untie its aid)

In Africa:

We work in 4 countries and 3 different development sectors and send both student volunteers (Junior Fellows) and long term workers who are members of or African Programs Staff (APS). The countries and sectors we work in are:

-Governance and Rural Infrastructure (GARI) in Ghana
This sector focuses on the implementation of effective planning and evaluation strategies within the Ghanaian government through evidence- based decision-making

-Agriculture in Ghana, Zambia, & Burkina Faso
In Ghana and Burkina Faso this sector uses a strategy known as Agriculture As a Business to help farmers shift from farming as a means of subsistence to farming as a lasting source of income and opportunity to be lifted out of poverty.

In Zambia the strategy is called AVC, Agriculture Value Chains and it works to improve market accessibility for farmers living in Zambia through a process known as market facilitation.

-Water and Sanitation in Malawi
This sector focuses on evaluating and monitoring the accessibility of water points to those living in Malawi through the implementing of Water Point Data Monitoring Systems that evaluate where water points are located and their functionality to assist district planners in determining where water points need to be either repaired or installed.

When it comes to development and our approach...
IT'S NOT SEXY. BUT IT WORKS

About the Program...

The program provides 1-2 students from each student chapter across Canada (INCLUDING MCMASTER) with a 16-month volunteer commitment that consists of:
-4 months of pre-departure training and preparation at both chapter and national levels
-4 MONTHS OVERSEAS IN 1 OF 4 AFRICAN COUNTRIES (Ghana, Malawi, Zambia or Burkina Faso)
-8 months of Return JF work that consists of taking what was learned and sharing it the chapter, McMaster community, and the Hamilton community as a whole

If passed the 35-cent student fee in question will be used to fund the overseas portion of the volunteer commitment.

How it impacts ALL McMaster students

The student volunteer is by their respective chapters and a National Office representative to spend 3.5-4 months in one of 4 African countries (Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, and Burkina Faso).

The volunteer typically works in a district government (municipality) with leaders within the department, such as the District Coordinating Director (DCD) OR with a local NGO in projects that are meant to build the capacity of the department to enable them to hopefully one day not be dependent on us or any other development organization.

This capacity building is not achieved through building schools, drilling wells or teaching kids to read. It is built through effective planning, building relationships between various stakeholders, and finding ways to create opportunity in these developing countries.

Considering many of these things take much longer than 4 months to achieve, the impact the volunteer is most prominently seen in what they bring back to their chapter and universities and this is where MCMASTER AS A WHOLE truly benefits form the program.

The knowledge that the volunteers have gained have been brought back to McMaster through various avenues including:

Curriculum Enhancement workshops that have been presented to various courses in:
-Engineering & Society
-Arts and Science
-Peace Studies

Presentations at conferences and other events such as:
- The Global Citizenship Conference
-The International volunteering Networking Breakfast

Running innovative chapter events such as:
- Day in the Life of An EWB Volunteer (remember the village that was set up in MUSC atrium last March?)
- Outreach presentation to local high school students through school’s outreach, a volunteer opportunity ANY MCMASTER student can take part in




**EWB IS NOT JUST FOR ENGINEERS AND THE PROGRAM IS OPEN TO STUDENTS IN EVERY FACULTY **

Let Your Pocket Change Make a Change!

Check out the facebook fan page for more info:
"EWB Referendum 2011: 35 Cents has never gone so far"
http://www.facebook.com/pages/EWB-Referendum-2011-35-cents-has-never-gone-so-far/158748420844351?v=app _2373072738#!/pages/EWB-Referendum-2011-35-cents-has-never-gone-so-far/158748420844351

Voting Happens February 2nd and 3rd!

For more information on elections/ vote, go to:
elections.msumcmaster .ca