How can engineering help those in need without risking a sustainable future?

How can engineering help those in need without risking a sustainable future? I believe that engineering is crucial to create a world where everyone has enough food, water, and where there are job opportunities for all who need and want to work.

My visit to a food bank makes me understand that engineers are needed to solve the world’s problems to keep people healthy.

For example, in some remote places there may be droughts where people rely on rain for drinking water. If engineers can find a way to harvest water from a location known to be extremely rainy, they could pipe it to the location with the drought. People could be educated on how to purify water or there could be wells built in communities to harvest rain water and purify it. Without water, families can become poor because they become sick and cannot work or go to school.

An example is Bill Gates who is a famous philanthropist who helped fund a waste treatment plant to create clean water and electricity from raw materials. I watched a video online of a treatment plant in Africa and learned about how they are making useful things and making better lives for themselves.

As a Girl Scout Junior, I visited the WeCare pantry in Plantation, Florida, to learn about the need for food in the community. When we were there the director talked about how people’s donations, even small ones, can make a big impact on people who cannot afford food for their families or for themselves. We learned that people go to food banks for many reasons, a few of which are not being able to get a job, being let go from a job, not having enough money to pay bills, and more.

It’s depressing to think of children who do not have food to eat.

However, engineers could help those with food insecurities by creating and designing farms that they can tend to in community food gardens or in their backyards or in small containers that are portable and easy to use.

Another way is how to fix if there is a limited supply of healthy or nutritious food in the community. Engineers could help to design indoor farms which are made out of sustainable eco- friendly materials.

In conclusion, smart engineering – in 2015 Bill Gates called it “brilliant engineering” when talking about his treatment plant - could help people who are unable to have good food, and a healthy amount of safe water. Engineers fix problems by designing and creating solutions.

I believe engineering is crucial in the fight against poverty while still continuing to live in a sustainable world.