Engineers without Borders raise money for Panama

The Mississippi Gulf Coast chapter of Engineers without Borders hosted a fundraising event today.

Good music and the sweet smell of barbecue attracted many people heading down Highway 90 looking for a bite to eat. Passerby Marco Kirkland said, “I came by and seen the people sitting out here selling plates and it’s on lunch break and it was close and convenient. I said ‘hey let me stop and see what’s going on here, it is smelling good.’”

Little did he know what a great cause he was contributing to. Engineers without Borders is a volunteer organization giving members an outlet to use their talents around the world to help those who really need it. They’ve been raising money the last two years to build a pedestrian bridge in Panama. So far they’ve raised about $25,000. Adam Dial with Engineers without Borders said, “This small community in Central Panama called Boca de Curia, they have a river that basically during the rainy season it becomes impassable and unsafe at times. It keeps them from being able to get to the health clinic quickly and safely. It keeps them from being able to get their crops and stuff into market in a timely fashion and it also keeps kids from being able to get to the schools.”

With the rainy season lasting about eight months out of the year in Central Panama, Dial says this new suspension bridge will help the people living there cross the river safely year round. Their mission to raise $30,000 isn’t just to build a bridge. For Adam it’s the bigger picture that means the most. “I think we’ve all been given a lot and I think to those that have been given much, much is required.”

Dial says on average one out of every two people on the globe live on less than a thousand dollars a year. “I would encourage us all as Americans to go around the world and do good.”

Engineers without Borders will be holding more fundraisers in the next few months and they are expected to build the bridge next spring.