MBABANE – Government has welcomed a new team of international student volunteers who will spend the next eight weeks in Eswatini constructing a suspension bridge at Kambhoke under Khubuta Constituency as part of efforts to connect isolated rural communities to essential services.
The students, from the University of Colorado Boulder and Eastern Illinois University in the United States, were officially welcomed during a press briefing held at the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development on Monday morning.
The bridge project is being implemented under the Microprojects Programme in partnership with Engineers in Action (EIA), an international non-profit organisation that works with rural communities to construct suspended footbridges and gravity-fed water systems.
Speaking during the briefing, EIA Eswatini Program Manager Anna Jovanovic said the organisation was preparing to begin its 40th bridge project in the country.
She said the Kambhoke bridge would be an 82-metre-long suspended bridge and construction teams would remain on site for approximately eight weeks before the project’s planned inauguration on July 10.
Jovanovic said this year’s programme would also introduce new developments, including the participation of three professional company teams from the United States who would work alongside student volunteers and local communities.
She further revealed that EIA was planning to construct a hybrid bridge design featuring suspension systems on both sides, adding that the organisation was working on improving durability and reducing maintenance costs.
“We are aiming to make the bridges resilient with literally zero maintenance for the next 50 years,” she said.
Jovanovic explained that the bridge would feature steel decking and that EIA was currently working with local suppliers on prototype materials to determine the most effective design for long-term sustainability.
She said besides bridge construction, the organisation was also continuing work on rural water supply systems in various communities.
The Engineers In Action programme in Eswatini was initiated in 2017 by student engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder and has since expanded to include other university chapters such as Eastern Illinois University.
Since the partnership began, dozens of pedestrian suspension bridges have been constructed across the country, benefiting tens of thousands of emaSwati by improving access to schools, clinics, shops and markets, particularly during periods of heavy flooding.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development Thabsile Mlangeni commended the students for their commitment to working with local communities.
She said the bridges had transformed the lives of rural residents by addressing long-standing accessibility challenges.
“These bridges have solved problems that communities have faced for a very long time,” she said.
Mlangeni said many residents could now access schools, clinics, markets and other facilities with greater ease and safety, especially during the rainy season when rivers often become dangerous to cross.
She also encouraged the visiting students to experience Eswatini’s culture during their stay in the country.
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