Posted by student LINDSEY BARNETT – I have just returned from the University of Oklahoma’s Inaugural International WaTER Conference, which invited individuals from a variety of backgrounds’ to submit presentation proposals on their international water and sanitation projects. I learned in August that my proposal “Applying the Getting to Outcomes Model in Water Development Projects and Programs,” about my International Public Service Project in Belize, had been accepted, and so I began to prepare for my first conference presentation.
My presentation focused on the Getting To Outcomes (GTO) model that we use at the Clinton School for all of our service learning projects. This model guides the planning, implementing and evaluative portions of community-based programs. My hope was that the presentation of this model could be useful to engineers and other scientists completing projects in communities very different from their own.
For my presentation, I was able to bring in real-life examples from my work hosted by the Peacework Village Network in Belize this summer. For 11 weeks, I traveled to Belizean communities to learn about their complex water and sanitation issues. I also met with national officials to get a better understanding of in-country resources. I passed my findings on to the Peacework Village Network in support of their growing Clean Water Initiative in Belize. This was a learning experience ripe with examples for my presentation.
I’m happy to report that my talk was very well-received by the diverse group in attendance. After my presentation, I had questions from a Sri Lankan engineer who asked if he could use the GTO model in his own domestic water and sanitation projects and from a geographic sciences professor who inquired if he could use the model in his projects based in Nigeria. I also fielded responses from an anthropologist working in South African wheat and wine communities, a businessman returning to Kenya, and an American civil engineering professor dedicated to international service learning.
Though it may sound odd, I enjoy the fact that I struggle to put an end date on my “summer” service project. While I might’ve left Belize July 29th, I am still able to strengthen my international experiences and apply them to my service work domestically. Even more to the point, I am excited that opportunities arise where I can continue share my efforts and help others in their own water development projects.