Trimble announced that it is partnering with Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) to expand the organization's efforts to provide engineering assistance in response to natural disasters worldwide. As part of this support, on the recommendation of Trimble Foundation—a donor-advised fund—a grant was made to EWB-USA. This grant will significantly grow EWB-USA's capacity to train and develop more qualified engineers in vulnerable regions and to scale EWB's disaster response, recovery and resilience engineering work worldwide.
EWB-USA's engineering expertise is highly valued and utilized by major international aid organizations, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in the aftermath of major natural disasters. EWB-USA provides crucial engineering aid in assessing damage, improving building standards and practices, and coordinating construction efforts to "Build Back Better." The Trimble Foundation funding will enable EWB-USA to significantly expand its disaster aid work by training and certifying more engineers and building local engineering capacity that can assist when natural disasters strike. This will aid EWB-USA in mobilizing capacity and increasing the organization's ability to deploy professionals for extended periods worldwide.
Trimble has long supported EWB-USA in its efforts to equip communities with the tools and knowledge for building and sustaining basic community infrastructure. With this recent donation from the Trimble Foundation, EWB-USA now has the ability to significantly scale the number of qualified EWB-USA engineers available for natural disaster relief and create the necessary engineering capacity to respond to more needs more effectively.
"Our vision is a world in which every community can sustainably provide for itself," said Cathy Leslie, chief executive officer of EWB-USA. "However, it takes more than a vision to provide these services. We are so thankful for companies like Trimble whose support enables us to access resources that move us faster and more efficiently from a vision to reality.
"By building on our relationship with Trimble and our existing collaboration with UNDP, we can bring the power of engineering to even more communities in need," Leslie added. "EWB-USA's work takes us to some of the world's toughest places, but each project, no matter how challenging, lays the foundation for a community to have a better future."
"We are excited to partner with EWB-USA in its vision to grow local engineering capacity and help 'Build Back Better' when natural disasters strike," said Rob Painter, president and CEO of Trimble and chair of the Trimble Foundation Fund Advisors. "While humanitarian agencies mobilize emergency aid, they often lack sorely needed engineering skills. Our goal is to support EWB in being a viable, reliable partner in international disaster work and to increase their ability to quickly respond to disasters."
