Our Mission:
Enhancing local knowledge to create lasting change.
The Organization
We believe that infrastructure will best serve communities when they have the capacity to become involved from project inception through construction. Governments and project sponsors often do not invest in communicating basic facts to the community about design, construction, and maintenance. Our mission is to find these facts and develop the local capacity to understand such facts. We join efforts with knowledgeable NGO personnel who use their new technical understanding to organize more effective public advocacy efforts.
After GVE volunteers work in the field to assess the engineering needs of a given project, they formulate a strategy for the local community organizations with their NGO counterparts, based on cultural understanding and sensitivity, to impart the technical information in a simple and accessible manner. They also act as catalysts and liaisons for that project among the engineering designers, advocacy and environmental organizations, policy makers, and the impacted community organizations.
Also, GVE volunteers have the opportunity to practice specific skills and enjoy the satisfaction of teaching new skills to people who deeply appreciate their value in maintaining their very survival, not to speak of setting the foundation for their economic development. GVE volunteers follow up their assessments and initial trainings with ongoing dialogue and additional trainings with the communities until they feel comfortable acting alone.
