Suppliers news: SME, Engineers Without Borders team up to give in Guatemala

The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Foundation’s (SMEF) Miners Give Back program is collaborating with Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB) in awarding its first US$5,000 grant to support a water system expansion project in Las Mojarras, Guatemala.

A pair of SME student members from the EWB Southern Illinois University Carbondale chapter will head up the project. The initiative’s goal is to address the lack of clean, usable water for the residents of Las Mojarras by: expanding the existing water system to the entire community; protecting and expanding the existing water source; and improving sanitation in the community.

Miners Give Back said it is working with EWB to leverage its global network of on-the-ground engineers in developing countries to contribute sustainable benefits to local communities.

EWB is a non-profit humanitarian organization that works directly with communities to assess, design, implement, monitor and evaluate appropriate engineering solutions for small-scale infrastructure projects, including water supply, sanitation, civil works, structures, energy and agriculture.

“EWB’s mission compliments that of Miners Give Back, which is to improve the lives of individuals and inspire a commitment to give back to the local community,”SME executive director David L. Kanagy said.

SMEF plans to issue another grant later this year, which will support another project in collaboration with EWB.

SMEF is the charitable arm of the Colorado-headquartered Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, a professional association whose 15,000 members represent professions serving the global minerals industry, including engineers, geologists, metallurgists, educators, students and researchers.