MIT-EWB Team Travels to Engeye Health Clinic in Uganda and John Leisure Joins the Engeye Board of Directors

Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Engineers Without Borders (MIT-EWB) team is currently in Ddegeya Village, Uganda. The team’s mission is to improve community water sources and enhance the Engeye Health Clinic’s electrical power system. Power objectives include connecting the Clinic to the Ugandan energy grid, augmenting existing solar panels and increasing generation capacity.

In fact, an energy usage assessment at the Engeye Health Clinic - a critical step toward installing additional power sources - neared completion as of this publication. MIT-EWB team member Shannon Liburd identified power consumption levels of the microscopes and projector – energy intensive equipment - and will bring in a Makerere University electrical engineering student to discuss rewiring of the clinic. In addition, Shannon and John Kalule, Engeye’s clinic manager, submitted an application for subsidized grid connection to Umeme, the rural electric agency.  Next steps involve acquiring more solar panels, purchasing batteries in Kampala and obtaining a solar efficient vaccine refrigerator. Financing solar panels presents a major hurdle, but the MIT EWB team is excited and confident that a new solar panel array will be installed by January 2010. Shannon has already facilitated a partnership between Rotary Kampala to provide project funding. Dr. Kenji Sasaki, a recent graduate of Caltech’s Electrical Engineering Graduate Program, was the Clinic’s electrical pioneer in 2007, raising funds to purchase four solar panels and then traveling to the clinic to install them as well as wire the clinic. He will also help supervise Liburd with his projected plan.

Water assessment and improvement efforts also yielded significant results.  MIT-EWB team member Michael Thornton discovered that many villagers travel more than a mile to water sources and that many do not boil water for sanitation purposes.  Michael also determined that the existing wells do not function properly and is working to augment the water supply at the Clinic by collecting rainwater, installing boreholes and pumping water from surface water sources.  Additionally, the team seeks to develop a sustainable long-term wastewater solution.  Moreover, during Thornton’s inaugural trip to the Clinic, he was able to produce a basic topographic survey, install a new well, establish key connections with the Ugandan Rainwater Association, the local pump dealer and repairman, the local solar dealer and Umeme power representative, as well as the Masaka water representative. 

In August 2009, additional members of the MIT-EWB team are traveling to the Clinic to perform further water testing, surveying, and community health assessments.  Peter D’Couto and Pauravi Shah, two EWB-Houston-affiliated Team Mentors, Helen D’Couto, the Project Team Leader, and Rebecca Heywood, the Water Team Leader, are the members participating in this medical mission.

John Leisure Elected to Engeye’s Board of Directors

Engeye co-founder Dr. Stephanie Van Dyke announced that John Leisure, B.A. History, B.A. Political Science, University of Southern California, Fulbright Fellow, Japan, and Creative Director for Engeye has been elected to Engeye's Board of Directors. John joins a vibrant and active Board committed to improving living conditions and reducing unnecessary suffering in rural Africa through education and compassionate health care. Engeye's Board of Directors is led by Dr. Stephanie Van Dyke (Family Practice Physician), Anny Su (MA in Architectural Design) and Misty Richards (MD/PhD Candidate).

Engeye's Board believes that healthcare is a fundamental human right and a global responsibility. The Board's approach has been to involve not only doctors, medical students and healthcare workers, but also business professionals, college students and the community-at-large. Cultivating a renaissance team that brings a diversity of ideas and opinions to the table is essential in developing Engeye. Ultimately, achieving affordable and sustainable healthcare in rural Uganda requires a comprehensive solution that involves medicine, economics, and education, among others, and is best accomplished with a multi-disciplinary team. 

John's academic background and international experience position him well as a member of Engeye's renaissance team. However, it is his passion for the cause and endless energy which have truly recommended him to Engeye's Board. “Since John Leisure joined the BOD,” states Richards, “he has truly increased the momentum, vigor, and enthusiasm of the entire mission. John brings brilliant ideas to the table, engages others in their implementation to promote teamwork, and has an incredible grasp of the current literature on NGOs and global development.  We are lucky to have him join our cause.”

When asked about his involvement Leisure said, "Engeye's mission - to bring healthcare and education to Uganda without imposing foreign social, spiritual, or political prejudices - resonated with my own thoughts from the start. Engeye does not just provide healthcare in Uganda, it empowers Ugandans to take the lead in providing healthcare for their own communities. The clinic in Ddegeya is managed by John Kalule and Charles Tinka, both natives of the area. What we can do as global citizens is support and foster the development of healthcare in rural areas like Ddegeya using international resources and networks. Ddegeya may be faraway, but diseases affect us all. We are all capable of helping both at home and abroad, and we must make the effort to help both domestically and internationally. That is why I'm involved and that's what I want to communicate to people."

As John joins the Board, his day-to-day responsibilities have also been expanded to include the role of Activism Liaison. As Engeye's Creative Director, John's responsibilities revolve around developing engaging ways to spread the word about Engeye's mission and activities. As Activism Liaison, John will focus on involving both local and international communities in support of Engeye, while socializing the idea that healthcare is a global responsibility. 

John will be speaking on behalf of Engeye at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s upcoming Global Health Conference, September 11-13 in Omaha, Nebraska.

About the Engeye Health Clinic

The Engeye Health Clinic is located in Ddegeya Village in southern Uganda. The main clinic building and two volunteer houses were constructed during the summer of 2006 with funds from an inheritance from the grandmother of Engeye Health Clinic’s co-founder, Dr. Stephanie Van Dyke. Habitat for Humanity builder Gary Arnold, several volunteers, and at least 50 local villagers joined Stephanie for the initial ground-breaking and construction. John Kalule, a native Ugandan, co-founded the Engeye Health Clinic, and manages the daily operations of the Clinic.  The word Engeye means "white monkey" in Luganda, an official language of the country, and is John’s family clan name. Dr. Stephanie Van Dyke, Dr. Carlos Elguero, John Leisure, Jay Shah, Misty Richards and Anny Su comprise the board of directors for the 501(c) (3) tax deductible, nonprofit organization.