KENNINGTON:?A Kennington engineer is set to help a village in Rwanda by taking a team to build a bridge over a perilous river where five people died last year, writes Callum Burroughs…
David Knight, 31, is part of a project run by the charity Bridges to Prosperity which helps provide access to education and trade through improved infrastructure in parts of Africa and South America.
The team of ten leave the UK on June 12 to build a 48-metre-long bridge across a perilous river crossing close to the village.
He said: “The cause is wonderful, it’s a walking world in Africa where transport is predominantly by foot, you walk everywhere.
“What appeals to me is helping these people that are often cut off by natural hazards, in this case a torrential river.”
The trip will be David’s first to Africa but the structural engineer is keen to ensure that his work makes a material impact in an area where flooding can cause vast problems.
The charity builds around 20 bridges a year in places like Rwanda, Nicaragua and Haiti, with materials being provided by a number of firms for the venture.
Their trip can be followed on tubungo.com or on Twitter through @Tubungo where possible.