This post is part of a series called 2015 Nepal Earthquake Journals Guest Blog by Sabine Kast KATHMANDU, Nepal–It’s 1AM. Dogs are barking outside. I am super tired. Four weeks ago, in the wee hours of a Haitian Saturday morning while I was fending off insects and obsessively trying to get through the last pages of my book, an earthquake struck Nepal. My phone lit up with the news, and a ping notified me of an email, which read: “This is a big one. Are you ready?” It was from Kit. Ten days later, I was one-way flight to Kathmandu.…

This post is part of a series called Miyamoto in Haiti Jon Buckley, a 32-year-old project engineer in our San Diego office, used his vacation and paid his own way to volunteer in Haiti for the firm’s nonprofit, Miyamoto Global Disaster Relief.  Read his guest journal about his adventures – like eating BBQ goat, learning a few phrases in French and Creole and seeing the damage from a major earthquake for the first time in person. The highlight, though, was working on Miyamoto Relief’s newest project, the retrofit of a dangerous, 4,000-student school in the heart of Port-au-Prince. February 2,…

This post is part of a series called Miyamoto in Haiti The community also had an interesting reaction to the Miyamoto banner that was installed at the entrance of the Lycee: normally, people in Cite Soleil do not appreciate signs and banners with donor logos because they are perceived as disempowering, as taking ownership away from the neighborhood. But the community appeared to appreciate this banner because instead of NGO logos on the banner, there were the logos of Haitian companies who were willing to put their name and brand on a project from Cite Soleil. There has been a…

This post is part of a series called Miyamoto in Haiti When Structural Engineering Students for Humanity (SESH) decided that Haiti was to be the destination of our summer 2014 trip, we were often given a warning: “You will either love Haiti or you will hate it.” I am happy to report that after spending two weeks in a country that I never thought I would visit, I cannot wait to plan my return.The love that Haitian people have for their county is truly contagious. Despite the hardships they have faced, they firmly believe that Haiti is capable of achieving…

This post is part of a series called Miyamoto in Haiti As a structural engineering student travelling to Haiti with a small group of fellow students (SESH), I intended to apply my knowledge of structures in a way that would develop communities and directly benefit people. During my brief, yet eventful, 10-day visit, I encountered the reality, obstacles, and successes of a nation susceptible to devastating natural disasters. As a foreign volunteer group seeking to aid a society distressed by an earthquake, I realized we are not alone in this endeavor; many  non-profit organizations have made their way to Haiti…

This post is part of a series called Miyamoto in Myanmar YANGON, Myanmar–We flew from Bangkok to Yangon, Myanmar on Monday morning. Once there we were greeted by Twe Twe and Nang. They took us to lunch before visiting the Myanmar Engineering Society. We stopped at  a local place, they let me sample the goat brains to see if I would like it as my main course. It seemed every meal we had during this trip was accompanied with mango, which was great for an avid fruit eater like myself. The mango I had today was sweet and had hints…