Harnessing Energy and Advancing Education
BY Zach Wadley ’14
3 MIN. READ
Nearly 2,900 miles south of Anderson University sits a town called Misahaulli, Ecuador. The small town is nestled between Rio Napo and the Rio Misahualli, two major rivers, and is an access point to the mighty Amazon jungle— the largest rainforest on Earth.
It is there where Anderson University engineering students and faculty traveled in March 2024 on a Tri-S (Serve, Study, Share) trip to be the hands and feet of Jesus. At Antioch Christian Academy, Ecuadorian children have the opportunity to receive a quality education—something that is not accessible to many in the jungle. The school is a part of Jungle Kids for Christ, an organization that aims to empower children of the jungle so that they can break the cycle of poverty and abuse and share that message of transformation with their family, community, country, and world.
The school is a necessity but was experiencing intermittent water outages that caused classes to be canceled for several days at a time multiple times a year. The 12 AU students and two faculty members traveled to ACA to develop a backup water supply system to fix the ongoing problem. While on the campus, students collected information to assess four alternative backup water supply systems, including a new cistern, a well, a rainwater collection system, and a dam of a natural spring. Students also assessed options to provide a backup power supply to the water system.
Students met with local ministry leaders and an engineer to clarify decision-making criteria and identify appropriate and available technology for the school’s context. In addition, they completed a topographical survey of the site, including
important information about piping and electrical systems on site.
“I think that opportunities such as the Ecuador trip are invaluable as an engineering student,” said John Buyer, a sophomore electrical engineering and humanitarian engineering double major. “This trip gave me insights into real-world client projects that challenged me to think critically and also grow holistically in cultural awareness. It also helped my communication and engineering skills.”
The work completed on site allowed students to prepare a preliminary design document with detailed information about system alternatives. From this preliminary design, the local ministry partners chose an alternative (the new cistern) the week after AU students and faculty arrived home, and students finished the plans and specs in May.
“Out of this project, not only do I have the ability to speak about a large project on my resume and in future job interviews, but I also got to network with the missionaries and open up the possibility of interning at JKC, running a summer STEM program to teach students about engineering,” said Buyer.
Anderson University is on a mission to educate students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 60 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 20 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult and graduate programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized among top colleges for its business, computer science, cybersecurity, dance, engineering, nursing, and teacher education programs. Anderson University was established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God.