You may have seen our last blog on the international nonprofit organization Bridges to Prosperity (B2P). As we mentioned, B2P partners with communities, universities and businesses to build much-needed bridges in the developing world. Here's the story of one such bridge.The University of Notre Dame works with Bridges to Prosperity through the group NDSEED. NDSEED, also known as Notre Dame Students Empowering through Engineering Development, was created in 2008 by six civil engineering students. Every year, a small team of NDSEED students work with their academic advisor and Bridges to Prosperity to organize, design and raise the funds to build a footbridge for a community in need. The students travel to the country during the school year for a week-long assessment trip, then spend eight weeks of their summer constructing the bridge.
NDSEED has completed a bridge project every year since 2009, and they just completed their eighth bridge last week! They've built six footbridges in Nicaragua, which makes it easier to do site selection, impact assessment and maintenance.
B2P bridges are built jointly with the local communities and NDSEED spends a large part of the year coordinating efforts to engage those communities. Local involvement makes construction possible and ensures the bridge is taken care of for years after construction. The picture above is NDSEED’s recently completed bridge in the community of Terrero Sur, Nicaragua. Check out the video below to learn more about Bridges to Prosperity and NDSEED.