Rachel Husfeld

Class of 2006
Katy, Texas
Graduate Student, Texas A&M University

Since 1996 Rachel Husfeld has participated in 11 international projects.

What drives this Valpo senior civil engineering student to undertake so many humanitarian endeavors that involve traveling so far from her home? The answer: Rachel’s abiding desire is to live out her faith in Jesus Christ in ways that better the lives of others regardless of where they live.

Rachel’s first eight trips involved traveling south to various locations in Mexico. She participated in five trips as a member of the youth group at Memorial Lutheran Church in Katy, Texas , and three trips while attending Valparaiso University. It was while participating in these short-term trips that she first discovered her twin loves: mission work and engineering.

These two passions also landed Rachel at Valparaiso University, some 1,200 miles from her home. In her words, “ Valparaiso University provides not only a spiritually nurturing environment but also a very accomplished College of Engineering.”

Since attending Valpo, Rachel has helped found the Valparaiso University Chapter of Engineers Without Borders – USA. As a member of EWB-VU, she has had the opportunity to travel to Kenya, Africa, to express her servant heart and engineering mind. In May of 2004, Rachel traveled with a group of 12 students and three advisers to lead a clean water initiative in the village of Nakor in the Turkana region of Kenya. This three-year project involves working together with the Turkana people to make drinking water and water for irrigation available to the approximately 3,000 inhabitants of Nakor.

The May 2004 trip resulted in the installation of a windmill and irrigation system that supplies water from an aquifer to a half-acre garden. This system demonstrated to the Turkana people that even in the midst of drought, there is a sustainable manner in which to provide food for their families.

As president of EWB-VU in 2005, Rachel led the preparation for the second phase project implementation. In May, 14 students and four advisers worked with community members of Nakor to install three windmill bases and two windmills, drill one well, install drip irrigation systems for five one-half-acre gardens, and perform a health survey.

Last May (2006), one day after her graduation ceremony, Rachel, who was named to the All-USA Today College Academic Team by USA Today newspaper in 2005, returned to Nakor on the final phase project implementation. While there she continued to reinforce the ongoing work of the local Christian missionary and the Turkana people. Together they installed more windmills and wells, expanded the size and number of irrigated gardens, and provided the village with an illustrated instruction manual in the Turkana language. Through her experiences traveling to Kenya, Rachel has discovered, again, what glorious things can happen when people of faith link hands to address life’s fundamental challenges.

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