Multifunctional Engineering: The Story of Engineers Without Borders in Ghana - Part 3

Part Three:

Like many other Canadians, in the five days leading up to Christmas in 2003, EWB volunteer Mike Quinn, went shopping. But unlike most, Mike’s shopping trip was preceded by a day-long mini-bus journey along bumpy and dusty Ghanaian roads. That’s because Mike traveled to the city of Kumasi in search of a pulley and an alternator, replacement parts for the multifunctional platform (MFP) he was installing in the rural community of Yaakrom.

Mike understood the importance of this installation – not only had the Kumasi Institute for Technology and Education (KITE) invested nearly all its budget into the project, but if successful, this MFP could act as a model to be replicated throughout the country benefiting countless Ghanaians.

Dedicated to this end, Mike spent a day seeking out the needed parts, then he, along with a new alternator and pulley, hopped on a mini-bus headed for Yaakrom.

Back in Yaakrom, Mike was met by the rest of the installation team, a group of local engineers, technicians and machinists, ready to continue work on the MFP. After installing the replacement parts, the moment that culminated months of work arrived – Ghana’s first MFP was up and running! Though only one MFP of the target 50, the successful installation signified for Mike and KITE that the project was finally moving forward.

But within days, they realized that the installation marked only the start of the project. In Canada, if the machine worked, Mike’s role would end. But in Ghana, it is not so simple.

The success of the project depended upon much more than a working MFP: Akua, the female entrepreneur who received the MFP on loan, needed technical and business training so she could run a profitable venture; KITE, drained of resources, required donors to provide continued funding so that other MFPs could be installed; and local technicians were needed to repair and maintain the MFP. This myriad of challenges was too complex to be met during Mike’s time in Ghana.

Saying goodbye to Mike, the people of this town in Ghana welcomed Tom Owen, a mechanical engineer from Victoria. This ‘changing of the guard’ was as much symbolic as it was practical. Mike’s departure signified the successful beginning to a worthy project, while the introduction of Tom and those who will follow him symbolize the plethora of challenges that still lie ahead for the project in Ghana and its EWB partnership.

Read next issue of Society Notes to see if Tom can help make Yaakrom’s MFP a success.

To learn more about the MFP, take a video guided tour with Tom Owen.

Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a registered Canadian charity that helps people in developing communities gain access to basic engineering technologies that can reduce poverty, hunger and disease. Visit EWB’s website at www.ewb.ca to learn more.