We have kicked off our efforts to empower under-resourced communities and support them in getting access to clean water and sanitation systems in great style. All our members have worked hard and are looking forward to the brigade to Honduras in July 2022! A fresh-faced committee was formed over the summer break and the entire team have settled into their roles brilliantly.
We began the year by raising awareness of the issues faced by rural communities in Honduras in respect to water and sanitation, alongside recruiting students from across the University of Birmingham. Holding information evenings, curry nights, attending the European Student Leadership Conference and meeting people at the EPS Societies Fair were all highlights over the first month of term.
After establishing a great cohort of new recruits, our focus started to shift onto the largest challenge we face – fundraising! Krispy Kreme worked with us to sell donuts around campus and we are looking to continue this; the sweet treats will keep coming. The Circo Christmas Quiz was also a lot of fun and saw some questionable outfits from some of the committee hosts!
We will soon be making our first donations to our volunteering donation goal, which will confirm the group of our fully committed members set to go to Honduras in July. In the meantime, we have been in contact with UK companies who are invested in charitable causes, water and sanitation with the hope that we will be able to collaborate with them and potentially gain some sponsorship in the future.
Unfortunately, some of our events have had to be postponed, such as the hockey tournament (due to weather), however they will be making an appearance in 2022 and we have some big plans for the New Year.
We can’t wait to reach out to more people, raise more funds and hopefully have a bit more fun next year – we are still accepting new members and are constantly looking for any innovative fundraising ideas, so please get in contact if you have any interest in UoB Global Engineering Brigades! You can find us on Facebook or email us on globalbrigadesenguob@gmail.com
See you soon!
James Smith
President, Global Engineering Brigades Birmingham
To find out more about Global Engineering Brigades visit their society website.
There are 41 student groups in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. To learn more about their projects and activities head to the EPS Societies homepage.