NMSU students build bridge and goodwill in Mexico
Undaunted by U.S. State Department warnings about travel in Mexico, a group of 12 NMSU students, advisers and community volunteers made the journey to a remote Mexican village during spring break. They came back with blistered hands, sore muscles and fatigue, along with the gratitude of a small Mexican community.
They were on a mission a year in the making: to build a bridge for the 150 or so residents of the village of Las Boquillas, enabling them to traverse a stream that floods for several weeks each year, isolating them from food and other necessities. The village is about 30 miles from the larger community of Satevo, Doña Ana County’s sister city. Satevo is about 80 miles southwest of Chihuahua City. Both towns are in the municipality of Satevo, the equivalent of a county.
For five days, they worked alongside four skilled workmen from Satevo to build a 180-foot-long, 12-foot-wide, four-foot-tall ford bridge in Las Boquillas. They mixed and transported 36-square-yards of concrete, about the equivalent of four trucks’ worth, by hand.
Initially, the students balked at the hard, physical labor, said engineering technology professor and the group’s adviser Kenny Stevens. “Then they started having wheel-barrow races and worked into the dark of night.” At the end of the week, they didn’t want to leave because the bridge deck was not yet completed, but their visas required them to return.
The Mexican workers were skeptical in the beginning, as well. “They thought we were there to party on spring break. But we began moving things for them and asking what they needed us to do. It took a day before they believed we were really there to work. By the end of the week, they left us with big hugs,” said Stevens.
“It was a lot of hard work,” said César Villasana, a senior in electrical engineering who recently joined the group. “But nobody slacked off—everyone worked hard all day. I’ve worked on community service projects like Habitat for Humanity, but I’ve never done something like this before.”
As the work progressed, the townspeople began coming by each day, growing to a group of about 30 spectators. Then they began bringing food for the workers and one man brought his donkey for a visit.
The students’ contribution was not all labor, however. They began the endeavor during last year’s spring break, taking the first of three trips to Satevo. They identified 20 possible projects and chose the bridge project as the one that was most needed, could help the most people and was achievable.
They made detailed measurements and with the head of public works for the town, sat at a table in a local restaurant and drew out informal plans and materials specifications on a napkin. Subsequently, they spent many hours making formal plans for the project.
“I spent six hours a week, outside of group meetings, working on plans and others in our group put in long hours, as well,” said Dorothy Lanphere, a senior in engineering technology. “It was a great opportunity and we learned things we couldn’t learn in a classroom.”
Additionally, they held bake sales, car washes and other fund raising efforts throughout the year to earn $4,000 to purchase the cement and rebar used to construct the bridge. The Rotary Club of Las Cruces-Rio Grande, Dr. George D. Alexander, Bill and Judy Stevens, D’Alamo Welding, Inc., Elks Lodge #408 of Las Vegas, NM and Arizona Public Service also helped with funding for the project.
“It was an amazing opportunity for the students,” said Sonya Cooper, Engineering Technology and Surveying Engineering Department head. “They had the opportunity to design a bridge, estimate and procure the materials, plan the sequencing of work and logistics. And best of all, they got to work and live closely with the townspeople and see it all come together.”
Stevens and Cooper accompanied the group of seven engineering students and an education student. They were joined by community volunteers Wanda Tamez, and Jean Fulton, executive director of the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association, a group devoted to preserving sites on the Camino Real (Satevo is located on the historic trail).
“They learned how to build forms and tie rebar and work with the components used in reinforced concrete,” said Cooper. “They also learned how to use a water-level tube—a plastic tube filled with water that can be stretched over a long distance to determine level. It was all very low-tech, but these methods have been working for more than 200 years.”
The municipality of Satevo provided four skilled workers who transported materials to the bridge site and began digging the foundation a week in advance. Their progress was slowed when they hit groundwater while digging the foundation, requiring design modifications and additional time to pump the water out. The bridge deck was not yet completed at the end of the week, but the workers will complete the deck.
“This experience did a lot for the image of Mexico with all of the violence happening right now,” said David Jurado, electrical engineering student. “But we were treated so well and the people were so grateful. You can’t have an experience like this and not feel good about it.”
The day the group left, the head of the Satevo municipality thanked them with tears in his eyes and invited them to a pig roast at his home.
It won’t be the last time he sees them.
The students have been invited to return after the school semester ends in May to see the finished bridge and join in a celebration.
All of the students are members of Engineers without Borders, an organization that focuses on projects that are sustainable and can be maintained by the communities where they are located. Although this was not an official EWB project, the group plans to return for future projects, possibly two a year.
“This was a great start. The best part was having the opportunity to see how it brought out the best in the students and faculty,” said Lanphere, president and founder of NMSU EWB. “We hope to be doing these projects for many years to come.
“The town really needs a sewer system,” said Stevens who is planning to spend the spring 2010 semester in Satevo on sabbatical. “Even a low-tech, simple system would cost $50,000-$60,000, which is a bit ambitious for us. We’d like to do something involving renewable technology, perhaps utilizing solar pumps.”
A civil engineering environmental class has already begun the design for the sewer system as their capstone project. And the students are already planning fundraising opportunities.
“It was awesome to do something to help people who are in need,” said Villasana who grew up in Juárez. “I could have done other things over spring break, but you have to sacrifice something to serve others. The satisfaction of knowing that I did something for others—that will stay with me for years.”
The NMSU EWB chapter is raising funds for future projects. For more information, email ewb@nmsu.edu.
Linda Fresques
April 28, 2009