Name: Shona Fitzgerald
Position: WASH Technical and Strategy Mentor
Location: Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tenure: July 2018-December 2019

What’s your engineering history?
I originally studied a Bachelor of Arts in French and Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. Towards the end of my degrees I thought about the career I wanted to pursue and it became obvious that engineering was a practical way to use that knowledge to transform people’s lives. I then studied a Masters of Engineering in water and wastewater engineering.
Since graduating 6 years ago I have worked for Sydney Water. My roles have been diverse, including preparing for and responding to extreme weather events, optimising energy use and recovery at wastewater treatment plants, supply chain risk management for wastewater services, water and wastewater treatment optimisation and treatment facilities planning.

Alongside my engineering work I’ve also been committed to raising the profile of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues in Australia and overseas. I have had many great opportunities in this space including participation in the inaugural UNLEASH event in 2017, sitting on the AWA WASH specialist network committee and the 2017 World Toilet Summit program committee. I have also conducted research with the United Nations University Institute for Water Environment and Health in Canada. Through these experiences I’ve worked with people from diverse backgrounds and have been able to apply my engineering skills to the complexity of WASH issues in developing countries.

Why did you take on a Field Professional role with EWB Australia in Cambodia?
My vision of a sustainable world is one that is kind to people and the planet, that is fair and is just. I love that through engineering we can work to create this world. I am passionate about WASH and was fortunate to find a placement through EWB that is a really good fit for my skills and experience. EWB is a people-centred organisation with principles that, I think, ensure sustainable development. My role with EWB has helped me to understand how to apply my skills in a humanitarian setting, to grow my understanding of international development work, to work cross culturally and with marginalised communities. It is a privilege to contribute to improving access to sanitation for people who currently have none and to know how much that can transform their lives.

What does a ‘Day In The Life’ of a Field Professional look like for you?
We have many projects on the go in the Phnom Penh office; they mostly fall into either sector engagement or technology development. When focusing on our sector engagement projects my day will often include meeting up with partners, making new connections, preparing content for knowledge sharing, attending sector events and meetings. When focusing on technology development my day involves literature reviews, ideation workshops, developing design specifications, small-scale and full-scale prototyping in the car park and field trips to speak with the community or to assess the site.

What has been the most rewarding part of the role?
I have had the privilege to be involved in everything from government consultation for policy and national planning to speaking with community members about what they do and don’t like about their toilet. It has been such a great experience to learn and contribute to international development at a national strategic scale and at a household level. The most rewarding part of the role for me has been to work with Cambodian engineers to develop technology – to see how they have grown their critical thinking skills, to see them increase in confidence to ask questions and to challenge ideas, and to see them lead decision-making for technology design.

What is something surprising about the role that you did not anticipate before commencing?
I have been surprised by how much input I would have into key decisions being made in the sector and how much weight my input and advice would have. The privilege that comes from being from a developed country with the opportunity for an excellent education means that people do not necessarily question the advice that I give. I’ve learned to be cautious with the advice I give and be better at guiding people through the logic of decision-making to help them create their own informed opinion.

What would you say to someone considering applying to become a Field Professional?
Working in-country is so valuable to grow your skills and experience in how to contribute to humanitarian engineering. The skills you will gain will make you a more rounded professional and will be relevant to any work you do in the future – whether in developed or developing countries. You will have the joy of living in a different culture and being challenged to be open-minded and adaptable. There are few roles that offer such an opportunity to learn about the social complexities and challenges of humanitarian engineering, to learn about yourself and be challenged to adapt to a different world, to experience the generosity of people who have little and to be grateful for the many things that we have in Australia.

FIELD PROFESSIONAL PLACEMENTS FOR DEPLOYMENT IN NOVEMBER 2019 ARE NOW OPEN! Find out more.

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“I can’t tell you what a thrill it was for our staff, and especially all the Foster Carers in the room, to have these motivated, caring and intelligent young adults standing in front of 26 children living in foster care, and sharing not just a message of helping others, but also a vision of what is possible for their future. One of the greatest issues for children in care is a lack of knowledge of life’s possibilities and a vision for their own future. It was a spine tingling moment for all of us but especially the Pyjama Foundation founder, Bronwyn Sheehan. Learning experiences such as this were precisely the reason she set up our foundation.”

There are currently over 50,000 children living in foster care in Australia, and they are facing huge challenges. Of all the school children in Australia undergoing NAPLAN testing (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy), children in care are the lowest performing group. 75% of children in care do not complete 12 years of school, and 35% of children in care are entering the juvenile justice system.

Kevin explains why. “The effects of trauma can be ongoing for a child in foster care. These children face lifelong issues with how to deal with everything that life has thrown at them. They get stressed out, they have much higher rates of ADHD, and there are all sorts of physical and developmental problems as well, and of course they have huge issues building positive relationships.”

The Pyjama Foundation was founded in 2004 by Bronwyn Sheehan after she was introduced to a foster carer. Bronwyn felt she had to do something to help children in care, and today The Pyjama Foundation aims to close this gap of disadvantage by connecting children in care with supportive adult mentors to empower them and increase their learning outcomes.  The Foundation today recruits and trains volunteers around Australia to visit 1300 to 1400 children each week to do homework and play games with the child. The aim as Kevin explains is to “create a trusting relationship with the child, always with the goal of improving that child’s learning outcomes.”

Creating a stable environment for foster children, and providing mentors that they can trust has been shown to have a very positive impact. “The Pyjama Angels come in once a week, and they are a happy person who doesn’t want or need to know the child’s back story. They just want to engage with them and show that child what they can do, rather than focussing on their problems. The child knows that there is someone thinking about them, and the very knowledge that someone is thinking and caring about them has a huge impact.”

The EWB chapter at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) were seriously inspired by the work of The Pyjama Foundation, and contacted Kevin to explore ways to bring EWB’s STEM School Outreach program to children in foster care.  “At first I thought, oh it’s going to be a lot of work, let’s just see what happens,” says Kevin “but that meeting was just so enthusiastic. I thought this really will be good, these EWB volunteers are so keen!”

The EWB QUT team adapted the School Outreach program a little to better meet the needs of the foster children and their carers. “When you invite a foster carer to come to a workshop, they might bring six kids with them instead of four because they took in extra children overnight, so you could have a mix of teenagers and younger ones. We had a noisy room of about 26, ranging from age four up, and I even think there was a baby crying somewhere.” jokes Kevin.

“With the EWB volunteers telling their story first, that really got the kids engaged to see that the focus was on designing for people who live in a totally different situation. The team did a really good job of pointing out while here in Australia we use steel for construction, in South East Asia that just isn’t going to work, so they use different materials. A number of the kids were really interested in that and you could see their grey matter ticking over – ok so though we wouldn’t do it that way here, that doesn’t mean it can’t be done differently.”

After being introduced to STEM principles by the volunteers, the children had the chance to compete as teams to build a raft transporting a maximum number of marbles while staying afloat. “For the group that won, that challenge was really impactful for them – I think they got a 100 marbles into it or something, which was fabulous!” laughs Kevin. “Building the rafts with different materials, and learning how people in other countries have to think and manipulate the materials that they have, that was the best moment for the kids.”

But don’t just take Kevin’s word for it., this is Tommy* who attended on the day:

“We did heaps of stuff. We got to learn about structural engineering in different countries and the different types of engineering. We also got to try to make a miniature floating platform with different materials and then see how many marbles it could hold while floating in a container of water before it sunk. The most fun was meeting new people and learning new stuff about the different types of engineers. I learnt that there are different kinds of engineers, it makes sense but I had never really thought about it. I also learnt that in other countries there are different limitations on building because of different materials, but they still build things anyway. In future I would like to become a programmer, which might then lead to working with engineering but I’m not sure if it will yet.”

Marbles aside, for the adults in the room the most powerful moment was when the EWB volunteers told the children what they were studying. “The kids’ eyes really lit up – one said they work with robots, and the kids thought ‘Wow engineers do that!’

“An underlying goal of our program is to “lift the gaze” of children in care,” explains Kevin “and this band of ten Engineering students, from various fields of study, was definitely a shining example for our kids to gaze at. Bronwyn Sheehan was there that day and the impact on her was huge. So many children in care see a lifestyle of dependence on government funding and benefits, and don’t really understand or know what’s possible out there for a professional life or study. Many don’t believe that university is for children who grow up in a care background, that it is something they can do too. To have these young people show these children that there is another way – that you can do these things, well that was super for the rest of us!

Having seen the impact first hand there is now a lot of motivation from The Pyjama Foundation to make it happen again. “I instantly afterwards emailed all our regional coordinators and said have a look online for an EWB Australia chapter near you. We just think it’s a wonderful program.”

*In order to protect privacy, Tommy is not his real name.

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We talk about challenges for women engineers, we share ideas, and increase our capacity as women in engineering, so that we are not left behind.” – Dulce Soares, Leader of Feto Enjiñeira

• Country: Timor-Leste
• Program: Professional Skills Development
• Solution: Accessible & Inclusive Design
• Outcome: Creation of a program empowering female engineers
• Impact: XXXX Skills development with 167  locally-based female engineers

SDGs: 4, 5, 6, 8

Across 2017 and 2018, 31 young women joined Feto Enjiñeira, and together the group engaged in outreach activities with 476 high school students, including 260 females.

Feto Enjiñeira also collaborates with the EWB Australia Professional Skills Development program (add link to PSD program) on skills workshops and student design challenges, building the skills of 500 engineering and technical professionals across 2016 and 2017, of whom 167 were women.

“In this country even in organisations that recruit women with a technical background they are sometimes recruited to work as an administrator instead of as an engineer,” explains Dulce Soares, who leads Feto Enjiñeira. “This means there is a lack of belief in them as a technical person. By having Feto Enjiñeira step up, and talk about the importance of being involved in leadership, that can influence others. We talk about challenges for women engineers, we share ideas, and increase our capacity as women in engineering, so that we are not left behind.”

Marilia De Araujo Martins agrees. Having studied petroleum engineering she is motivated “to see more women working in technical roles in the oil and gas industry in Timor-Leste”, and believes “engineering is crucial to the development of the nation.” But like the others in the group, she was discouraged from studying engineering, and told “if you study that, all you will be is a builder.” With only a small number with a friend or family member in the engineering sector, the mentoring and peer-to-peer support they receive through Feto Enjiñeira is highly valued.

In time, Dulce says, the positive shift in skills and confidence these women gain is truly transformative.

“When they start with Feto Enjiñeira they believe they have to be silent. But we do field activities, they get the chance to talk, lead, organise and conduct something. They feel they have an important role. That belief motivates them and gradually they change. They are able to speak, give their opinions, and have a critical mind.”

Sylviana Ferreira Carvalho, a civil engineer working with CHL, believes her experience with Feto Enjiñeira, and as an intern with EWB Australia’s Professional Skills Development program ‘helped a lot’. Her professional skills facilitated her to secure her current role, and she has confidence working in a male dominated construction environment, saying “If you are professional then they will respect you.” Dulce witnessed this transformation first hand. “The person that I knew joining the group was very quiet. But now I see Sylviana always raises her hand whenever there is a question, she always comes up with something else. Before it was only a ‘yes’, but now it’s ‘Yes and I also have these ideas!’

The transformation doesn’t stop there. As Dulce looks across the sector as a whole, she is encouraged to see engineering companies adapting to this new culture of women in engineering. “What we hear is there are now a lot of women in leadership in the engineering sector, and people have started recruiting women for technical jobs in the field. There are changes, and to make it stronger we have Feto Enjiñeira networking with organisations and with the government,” says Dulce

“If people really understand the concept of women in engineering then it changes the idea that it is only about physical work. When we talk about creativity and about ideas, you don’t need to show your physical strength for that.”

Marillia agrees that old attitudes are being overturned. “I have learned a lot about leadership, and when we go out to work in communities, we are role models to others. So what we have learned is important not just for us, but for all women working in engineering in Timor-Leste.”

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“EWB Australia’s skill set and knowledge, and their capacity building of local engineers is excellent, definitely a more sustainable approach. We had an EWB Field Professional as part of the entire process… tt was excellent! It was how we got the whole design set up. It was completely invaluable.”

– Kyra Marwaha, Cambodia Country Director of The Johanniter

Country: Cambodia
Program: Community Partnerships
Solution: Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Outcome: Solar powered piped water system for Ratanakiri village

SDGs: 6,7,17

Impact: Two piped water supply system now supply two villages in Ratanakiri – almost 80% of village have ready-access to clean water within 10 months. and are now being managed by a local water management committee, registered with the Provincial Department for Rural Development.

In remote Ratanakiri in north east Cambodia, a community’s only water source was a distant stream, so every drop for cooking, cleaning and sanitation had to be carried home manually. The community identified the lack of a piped water supply as a real barrier to safe sanitation in their village. However supplying piped water in this area of Ratanakiri is not straightforward – the environment is challenging with a dispersed population, appropriate sanitation systems are not easily available, and technical expertise is lacking.

So when EWB Australia Field Professionals helped bridge a technical knowledge gap, in partnership with The Johanniter, Rainwater Cambodia, and Human and Health, it set in motion the steps to make piped water a reality for the people living here.

Kyra Marwaha, Cambodia Country Director of The Johanniter is a champion of the partnership philosophy, highlighting how essential it is to share information, and to be transparent and build relationships with other NGOs.

“There are technical working groups at the national level,” she says, “but how that plays out on the district level is where there really needs to be a focus, because that’s where the challenges are actually felt.”

The Johanniter with their local partner, Human and Health, were working on Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in Ratanakiri and had come up with the concept for a piped water supply, but hadn’t secured funding nor engineering expertise to demonstrate feasibility.

“We really needed to have strong evidence behind what we were saying, but it was really hard to get that technical expertise. There are not a huge amount of engineers here in Cambodia,” Kyra explains.

EWB Australia Field Professional Nick Boerema was on placement with EWB Sanitation in Challenging Environments (SCE) project, and volunteered to do a technical engineering feasibility assessment to input to their funding proposal – his offer came at just the right time. With a specific focus on system sustainability, Kyra explains that Nick carried out a number of field assessments of piped water systems that hadn’t worked, and found that “they weren’t using solar pumps, rather they were using diesel pumps. The big problem with that is that there was no maintenance, and people couldn’t afford the fuel. There was a lot of thinking about how we can prevent this from happening, and having Nick at this time with that technical knowledge was excellent, as it would have been difficult to source elsewhere.”

Following technical assessment and design, a sustainable solar powered piped water system was proposed and successfully secured the necessary funding. In Kyra’s opinion EWB Australia’s Field Professionals not only bring technical knowledge but also a human centred design approach that considers the context and the community who will manage and maintain the system.

“This can be unusual especially when you seek out specific technical skills, as often they will come with just that skill set and they don’t have that more grassroots approach. It’s certainly not easy to find.”

With the continued support of RWC and a further three EWB Australia engineers – Ajay Chouhan, Lachlan Gutherie and Jimi Metcalfe – two piped water supply systems in two villages in Ratanakiri were completed in February 2018, and are now being managed by a local water management committee, registered with the Provincial Department for Rural Development.

“We had an EWB Field Professional as part of that entire process through RWC. It was excellent! It was how we got the whole design set up. It was completely invaluable.”

By the end of 2018, 231 out of 294 households had signed up for the system, and connected to water meters, paying for their water based on usage. Kyra is really pleased with the outcome.

“We are anticipating that everyone is going to sign up, because it has had a really positive response. This project has gone so well, and the government at a provincial and national level have been so engaged and supportive. When you are working in this sector, you have to be realistic. But it’s those little steps, it’s those small changes that you see that are worth it,” says Kyra.

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