Our Crowdfunding Groups
A generous donor is offering a 1:1 matching gift challenge up to our $5,000 goal. With these matching funds, each $1 donated becomes $2 to double your impact and help EWB build a medical clinic to serve the Ullo-Dantie community. Thank you for your support!
Who is EWB-ISU?
The mission of Engineers Without Borders is to provide engineering solutions to communities around the world to help them meet their basic human needs. Our vision is a world in which every community has the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs. EWB-ISU is a non-profit, student-led organization at Iowa State University consisting of about 70 students. Our chapter is currently partnered with a community in Ullo, Ghana, called Ullo-Dantie. We have been working with them since 2014; our most recently completed project in Ullo was the implementation of a water distribution system that pumps water to the 1000 student (and growing) population at Ullo Senior High School. Since the completion of this project, EWB-ISU has been working with the community to identify other needs they have.
What is the clinic project?
It was brought to our attention that the current clinic in Ullo is insufficient. The maternity ward is very undersized and not capable of handling multiple births at the same time. The clinic is also in high demand during malaria season. Community members have expressed that the lack of access to adequate healthcare has resulted in the deaths of multiple community members. The clinic does not have a doctor or physician’s assistant and is not equipped to handle medical emergencies. Currently, the clinic consists of five rooms between two buildings, which is insufficient to providing adequate healthcare.
Since EWB-ISU has identified this need in the community, we have been evaluating the feasibility of constructing a new and sufficient medical clinic. The executive team voted to move forward with this project in the Spring of 2020. This new clinic would not only provide the kind of medical support that Ullo-Dantie needs, but would also serve 28 other nearby communities, for a total of about 11,000 people. The design and construction of the clinic has been broken down into phases that will be completed over the course of multiple years. The new clinic will have a maternity ward, consultation rooms, and a pharmacy, to name a few features. This project is something that the Ghanaian government is in full support of; they have agreed in writing to provide the clinic with medical supplies and a physician’s assistant if EWB-ISU designs and constructs the actual building. We also secured verbal and written agreements from the chief of the Ullo Traditional Area.
Supporting the progress of this project is an investment in Ullo's future; death and illness would be prevented with the resources of a new clinic, thereby improving the overall healthcare and quality of life in Ullo. Community members could rely on the new clinic for medicine, maternal healthcare, proper medical consultation, among many other things. Improving the health of members in a community is a major step in promoting the development of a more sustainable and prosperous society. You can be part of Ullo's growth by enabling EWB-ISU to support their needs through engineering solutions!