Office job

Two weeks into the office-job part of my internship with Engineering Ministries International Canada (eMiC), things are going well.  eMiC's office is a friendly, talkative environment.  We have a daily prayer meeting in the morning.  My commute takes me over railway bridges at sunrise and sunset every day.

My tasks to date have included learning AutoCAD so I can help with... well... I'm not sure yet, but eMiC uses AutoCAD for everything;  and translating some of a French soils report into English, which will be an important input to the design of the Welcome Home Children's Centre building's foundation.

Finally, I've been going through old EMI projects, particularly from other projects in Haiti, to get a feel for what our end goal is.  We will be eMiC's 14th design team sent to Haiti, each previous team leaving a 20-to-30-page report and dozens of technical drawings, so I have lots to browse.  The following quotes come from two of these reports, here reproduced with permission to give you an idea of the goals that have been motivating foreign ministries to enlist eMi's help.

The oldest report I read had this to say:  "Many of these children have been abandoned to government hospital wards where [as of 2002] they receive inadequate care....  Her [the minister's] goal is
to empty the abandoned children's wards in the Les Cayes area."

Another report, this project aimed at serving Haitian young adults, explains:  "The ministry is focused on transforming Haiti by using vocational training to prepare [former orphanage children] for a lifetime of independence.  Upon graduation from this program it is the hope that [they] will become effective citizens that have a passion for remaining in their country and making it a better Haiti..."  Quoted from memory:  "The primary aspiration among Haitian young men is to leave Haiti."

Of course, the reports mostly consist of things like, "The maximum wind suction pressure on the roof elements near corners and returns are expected to be up to 7.33 kN/m²," and, "The septic tank has been sized to process 4000 gallons of wastewater per day in 2 chambers, which is enough for up to 50 children and 20 adults."  The reports for Haitian projects often discuss the challenges of making a building both hurricane-proof and earthquake-safe while keeping the projected cost low enough to be taken seriously.

As my graduation neared, I was given a steel ring to wear as a tangible reminder to double-check my work because, in engineering, I will often have people depending on it for their safety, but I'm finding that I don't need the reminder.  The spectacle and gravity of the work, and the humbling and uplifting character of the cause, are enough.

Orientation week

I spent the last seven days week at The Hideaway retreat centre in Colorado, USA, in a very beautiful landscape of mountains, foothills, snow, and only one species of tree.  With about twenty staff, long-term volunteers and other interns, I experienced 'orientation' for my time serving as an engineering intern with Engineering Ministries International Canada (eMiC).  Orientation included talks about the scope and history of eMi's work and how engineering and architecture in the 'majority world' (developing countries) differs from the North American practise we all learned in university.  We also did some fairly insightful personality tests and had talks about cultural sensitivity/awareness/understanding to help us be self-conscientious as coworkers and as foreigners in numerous countries where opportunities for misunderstanding abound.  There were some games and athletics included too.

Orientation week being completed, my fast-made good friends and I have spread out across five continents to continue learning how eMi does its work.  eMi has offices in Canada, the USA, England, India and Uganda, among other places, and is working toward opening three more.  Each office recruits and sends out teams of volunteers, most of them qualified as architects or engineers, to help Christian ministries ("clients") in need of design help for site planning, property development and infrastructure work.  Some of the "clients" this cycle are in Ethiopia, Gabon, Tanzania, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and my team is working (from Calgary) with a ministry in Haiti.

I have to say, I enjoyed air travel tremendously.  Intern Program Director Carl managed to get me window seats on all four planes to and from orientation, and it wasn't wasted on me.  It was my first time flying, as I've explained about ten times to different people.  Apparently that's unusual at my age.  In any case, it gladdens the heart to find that adulthood doesn't mean having nothing left to wonder at.

The Black Forest―Really looks black from the air.

Pike's Peak (Sam's photo)―Visible from The Hideaway, both out the window and in several paintings. 

Downtown Colorado Springs

A bouldering wall at the climbing gym we went to

Driving into Monument

An "album cover" photo take (by Kesley?) as part of a "photo scavenger hunt" 

The blindfolded jigsaw.  The pieces have writing on the bottom, presumably for some other activity.  (Carl's photo?) 

Morning twilight as Marcie, Molly and I arrive at the Colorado Springs airport after orientation

Sunrise at the Colorado Springs airport

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast."
Ps. 139