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SPRINGNEWSLETTER 1
SPRINGNEWSLETTER
KEVIN HANSON
Kevin is a Professional Engineer with nine years
experience working in the Oil and Gas industry in Calgary.
He has been actively involved with Engineers Without
Borders for the past four years and is currently finishing
up his tenure as Calgary Chapter Co-President. Kevin is an
enthusiastic traveller, certified SCUBA diver, avid art house-
cinema goer and aspiring to become a competent salsa
dancer.
What are looking forward to about being a Professional
Fellow?
I am looking forward to getting firsthand knowledge and
experience on the long term development work that our
organization is doing. I have done a significant amount of
travelling as a backpacker and tourist over the years, but
this placement represents a great opportunity to make
connections with the people in the local community over
a longer term and in a more authentic way. As a result
of thisI hope to get the opportunity to understand the
wchallenges that the people in my host community face, the
causes of them, and then assist in work of addressing these
challenges and bringing that knowledge back home with
me to Canada.
ERIC LIMACHER
Eric currently works for New Energy Corporation Inc.
designing and developing hydrokinetic turbines. Eric loves
sports of all kinds, hiking, camping,motorcycles, reading,
and diving into whatever life throws at him. He loves being
outside and the anticipation of spring and summer.
What are looking forward to about being a Professional
Fellow?
The next three months are going to fly by and it won’t
be long before I’m getting on an airplane. I know it will
be tough to be away from the comforts of home for four
months, but I believe that is a key element of this process.
I want to step out of my comfortablelife in Calgary, to
broaden my perspective and deepenmy understanding of
development, to put myself in others’ shoes and to really
learn what is necessary to make a sustainable positive
impact for others.In the technical circles of which I am a
part, I hear plenty of ideas about how we in Canada can help
to develop Africa. What I don’t hear is talk of sustainable
implementation processes, the development of local
leadership and the involvement of this leadership in
strategic planning. I’m looking forward to approaching
development with an eye towards sustainability.
EWB PROFESSIONAL FELLOWSHIP 2011
The Professional Fellowship Program was created to build a new generation of leaders in the development sector.
It helps fuel EWB chapters to sustain and build their knowledge and passion about human development, providing
them with on-the-ground experience and a direct, personal connection to those whom we are working to benefit.
The participants of this year’s Professional Fellowship (PF) have been selected. We are pleased to announce that Calgary
is sending two volunteers, Eric Limacher and Kevin Hanson. They will be joined from 2 volunteers from Vancouver, 1 from
Edmonton, 1 from Toronto, and 2 from Ottawa.
Kevin and Eric will be working with our African Programs teams from August to December 2011. Prior to their departure they
are participating in numerous training sessions in Canada. When they return to Calgary in January 2012 they will be hosting
sessions to share their work.
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SPRINGNEWSLETTER 2
Celebrate! Africa
Despite a furious spring snowstorm, over 100
people joined together on Saturday, April 2nd to
Celebrate!Africa. Celebrate!Africa is one of EWB
Calgary’s key annual fundraising events. This year,
attendees had the chance to join with to test out
their rhythm dancing to the drums of Ibrahim Diallo,
from the Congo.
As part of the fundraising activities, a photo silent auction
and contest was held. Photos were submitted by EWB
members, family and friends, and judged on the basis of
highest auction price. Congratulations to Brett Cedergren
and Karen Hincks whose photos garnered the two highest
auction prices.
We would also like a
knowledge those who
donated prizes or
materials for the event:
Swizzlesticks Salon &
Spa, Higher Ground,
Teaopia, Manana
Gifts and Imports,
Blacks Photography,
One WorldDrum Co.,
Safeway and Calgary
Co-op.
We look forward to
hosting this event
again in Spring 2012,
and will hopefully see
you there.
Calgary as a Fair Trade Town?
The idea of a Fair Trade Town was introduced in the
United Kingdom in 1999. Awareness of Fair Trade was
promoted in Garstang by an Oxfam Group, and quickly
gained formal endorsement by local community,
media and politicians. This grassroots movement has
gained worldwide momentum and there are now
over 500 Fair Trade Towns spanning the globe. The
push to create Fair Trade Towns isactively linking
communities and producers around the world, bringing
about a greater awareness of what it means to be a
conscious consumer.
Wolfville, N.S. acquired
status in 2007 and was
named Canada’s first
Fair Trade Town. Last
year, Vancouver was
the first major Canadian
city to be recognized
as fair trade. Halifax is
currently working
towards Fair Trade Town
certification.
In Calgary, members of EWB are currently laying
the ground work for greater availability of Fair Trade products,
wand ultimately, working towards achieving Fair Trade
Town status.
FairTrade Canada (formerly TransFair Canada) has outlined
6 goals focused on gaining support of local businesses,
political authority and the community at large that
must be attained to become a Fair Trade Town. formal
support from local political authority (city council); ensuring
a fixed proportion (per population) of retail outlets,
restaurants and cafes sell or serve two or more Fair Trade
Certified products; visible support of community groups;
support of the public through active media campaigns and
public events;establishment of a local Fair Trade steering
committee; the presence of additional community initiatives
regarding ethical and sustainable consumption.
Thank you to volunteers
Stacey Cedergren,
Jodi McMullen, Jodi MacMillan, Jennifer Tam,
Meheran Mehta and Nikhil Ramesh
for their time in organizing and running
Celebrate! Africa.
photo by E. Logan
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SPRINGNEWSLETTER 3
While we expect this will be a multi-year initiative, with
a lot of work involved, we are excited about the journey.
We hope this campaign will bring together a group of
like-minded Calgarians, committed to increasing social
awareness within our community. If you are interested
in learning more or becoming involved in this campaign,
please contact us at [email protected]. Fair Trade is a
trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and
respect, that seeks great equity in international trade.
It contributes to sustainable development by offering
better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of,
marginalized producers and workers. Fair Trade
organizations (backed by consumers) are engaged
actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and
in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of
conventional international trade. - FairTrade Canada
The Run to End Poverty –Running for a Reason
On May 29 2011, compassionate runners are hitting
the streets as part of Calgary’s second annual Run to
End Poverty (R2EP) in support of Engineers Without
Borders (EWB) . In addition to individual runners,
local corporations have also registered as part of the
R2EP’s corporate challenge, providing the chance
for colleagues to team-build while also helping build
opportunities for rural African’s to access programs
The Run to End Poverty was born in 2007, when an EWB
volunteer in Ghana, West Africa, and three EWB chapters in
Montreal created a truly ‘international’ half-marathon event.
Simultaneous runs were held in Montreal, Quebec and
Tamale, Ghana to raise awareness about extreme poverty
in Africa and to promote EWB’s capacity-building efforts in
its partner organizations and communities overseas.
This year R2EP Calgary is running in support of Engineers
Without Borders’ “Agricultural Value Chains” team in Zambia.
The Agricultural Value Chains Team is working to facilitate
stronger links between the private sector and rural farmers.
As the partnership between these two groups grow, rural
farmers have increased access to valuable farming inputs like
seeds and fertilizers, micro credit, and market opportunities,
enabling them to climb out of the cycle of extreme poverty.
By working directly with development organizations in
Zambia, EWB can help them bridge the communications
gap to connect small businesses and farmers, so that both
can better succeed.
Since the first run in Vancouver in 2007, Run to End
Poverty teams across Canada have raised over $105,000
from more than 2,000 donors in support of EWB’s
development efforts in Africa. In 2011, Run to End Poverty
teams will be running in nine cities across Canada, all united
in the fight to end extreme poverty in developing nations.
To join the Run to End Poverty, first register at
www.runtoendpoverty.ca. You will then receive a discount
code to register for the Calgary Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, 10K
and 5K walk and run taking place on May 29. While it may
be a little late to decide to run a marathon, we definitely
encourage you to participate in the 5K walk or run.
Registration is open until Tuesday, May 24.
For more information, please contact us at:
Richard and Juilet are cocoa farmers with the Fair Trade Certified
Farmers Cooperative Kuapa Kokoo, located just outside of Kumasi,
Ghana. Photo taken by former EWB overseas volunteer Elizabeth
Logan on a visit to their farm in 2009.
photo by E. Logan
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Did you know that as part of our corporate engagement program, EWB offers workplace Lunch and Learn workshops?
All presentations are designed to fit into a one-hour
lunch break, with some companies choosing to
provide snacks and/or lunch for their employees.
The interactive workshops are a great opportunity
for employees to collaborate and learn from each
other, while broadening their knowledge and
perspectives.
We would like to thank the following companies for inviting
us to facilitate one or more presentations this year:
Shell, NovAtel Inc., Nexen, Stantec, Hatch, MPE, CDL and
APEGGA.
AVAILABLE WORKSHOPS:
Root Causes of Poverty
Our most popular workshop has participants working
together in small groups, analyzing and discussing a case
study, with the goal of determining the fundamental causes
of poverty.
Access to Water in Malawi - Creating Opportunity for
Positive Change - An Interactive Workshop
This workshop divides participants into two groups. Each
group has to defend why their water pumping system will be
most effective. At the end of the case the true facts are ex-
posed and participants are able to reflect on the many factors
influencing the success of a development project.
Water for the World -An Exercise in Trade and Resource
Management
An interactive game-style workshop that has participants
representing different countries, each working to obtain nec-
essary water, oil, technology and monetary resources while
navigating challenging social, economic, political and cultural
barriers. The complexities of world water issues and EWB’s
work within the water and sanitation sector are discussed.
Global Engineering
Canadian engineers have the opportunity to lead the
charge to solve the problems of humanity through human
development. This workshop explores the idea of global
engineering and how we can facilitate design for adaptable,
people focused, social impact solutions to the problems of
the world.
Overseas Case Study
A presentation hosted by one of our returned overseas
volunteers, sharing their recent experiences of living in
Africa and working on an EWB project.
TransCanada and Engineers Without Borders Canada are
partnered together for the next three years (2011-2013) to
support a rural agricultural project in the country of Ghana.
This is the first time a corporation has provided both proj-
ect funding and long-term seconded employees toward
an Engineers Without Borders Canada initiative in Africa.
Altogether, TransCanada will be contributing $300,000 to
fund the project and will be sending six employees over-
seas. Like other EWB volunteers, TransCanada employees
will undergo training in Canada before going to Ghana.
They will receive a small living allowance and will be ex-
pected to integrate into the Ghanaian community they’re
serving.
The program is an experiment for both organizations, but
both have high hopes. Engineers Without Borders sees this
as an opportunity to prove a concept that will be made
available to all of its corporate partners. TransCanada is ex-
cited to provide skill-based leadership opportunities to its
employees, while helping to build sustainable communities
on a global scale.
For more information about TransCanada’s community
investment program visit:
www.transcanada.com/communityinvestment
Engineers Without BordersEngineers Without Borders Canada is a movement
of 50,000 professional engineers, students, overseas
volunteer staff, and supporters across Canada. They believe
that the next generation of rural Africans should have the
same opportunities to improve their lives, that we have
right here at home. To help make this a reality, members
and volunteers apply all the creativity, technical skills and
problem-solving approach for which engineers are known.
The Calgary Professional Chapter is involved in many events,
from corporate workplace outreach programs to member
learning initiatives. Want to get involved? Volunteers
for Engineers Without Borders are not limited to
professional engineers but include all professions with a
foundation of humility, passion, critical thinking, adaptability,
flexibility, awareness of issues and awareness of self.
Please see the Calgary Professional Chapter’s website
at http://www.calgary.ewb.ca/ more information,or e-mail
us at [email protected] to find out how you can get involved.