“The bridge build itself was at times demanding, but always achievable,” says Sam Arthurson, a Jacobs structural engineer. Together with local community members and Bridges to Prosperity staff, the collective group moved – by hand – 200,000 pounds of rock, and other materials throughout the build. Our teammates learned basic terms in the local language (Kinyarwandan), lived and worked alongside local team members, and, of course, got their hands dirty to construct the 80-meter (262-foot) bridge.
Additionally, children missing school due to impassable rivers has long term effects on their education and future potential. Crossing the river on a stack of timber logs to reach schools, access medical care and sell crops at market had resulted in regular injuries and even death over the years. The two-week mission: provide safe access across the Kibande river, which often becomes dangerously flooded during the rainy season. Selected from close to 200 of our employees who applied to be part of the project, our team members traveled in June to Kibiraro, in western Rwanda, alongside the nonprofit Bridges to Prosperity (B2P).
Four communities and 2,500 people now have safe, year-round access to essential services in a rural Rwandan community thanks to 12 of our Jacobs teammates.
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