I am the Energy Lead for the EWB-CPC Ak' Tenamit project. Our team just returned from the first Assessment Trip from 28-Apr through 04-May. In addition to numerous water and sanitation issues, the site has a solar panel distribution system that is in need of expanding and upgrading using our engineering expertise. On the trip, we taught 14-16 year old students how to read the energy data in the battery rooms so we can continue to monitor the system and determine our next steps.

Ak’ Tenamit is an educational and vocational school that serves young people of several indigenous Mayan (Q’eqchi’) communities in eastern Guatemala. The school provides education and vocational training in two different career tracks: Sustainable Tourism and Sustainable Rural Community Development. Team Ak' Tenamit from the Chicagoland Professional Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA will be assisting in the design and implementation of several environmentally friendly engineering projects that will improve the quality of life for the students and people that work at the school. In addition, improvements to the school would not only improve the quality of life for the students, but also allow more students to attend, increasing the impact of the school.

Project website: http://www.razoo.com/team/Ewb-Cpc-Ak-Tenamit

Race website: http://www.131marathon.com/Chicago/