Mercer On Mission
Mercer On Mission
Engineering

Dominican Republic

TRAVEL DATES:
Summer 2025
GENERAL INFO:
The Mercer On Mission program in the Dominican Republic focuses on finding sustainable solutions for providing clean and accessible water to underserved communities and addresses the mobility and accessibility needs of people with disabilities in those communities. The water program is a continuation of programs in Kenya, Madagascar and Uganda, where faculty and students have installed water systems in rural areas dating back to 2010. The mobility and accessibility program was added in 2022 to address a critical and unmet need in the community. The Mercer On Mission program in the Dominican Republic emphasizes community development, capacity building and the use of appropriate technologies to improve the quality of life of the community.

Meeting a Need

About 2 billion people worldwide lack access to clean and safe drinking water, which also affects the sanitation and hygiene of a community. About 1.3 billion have a significant disability. People who live in rural and hard-to-reach places are especially at risk of suffering from preventable diseases and other health problems related to unclean water, while people with disabilities in these areas are among the poorest and most vulnerable. Mercer professors have been working on solutions to these pressing issues caused by lack of water and lack of accessibility by bringing clean water and improved accessibility to communities in need.

What You'll Do

Students will spend most of their time working in the El Cercado area of the San Juan province. There, they will work with a rural community group to improve a water supply system, which may include system construction.

Students will work with local stakeholders, such as residents, technicians and government workers, on the development of maintenance and repair plans for the local water systems. They also will work with stakeholders to find ways to improve the environmental health conditions of households in the El Cercado.

In addition, students will conduct low-cost water assessments and collect hydrogeological data to better inform water resource management and improve the environmental sustainability of water supply systems.

They will interview people with disabilities and their caregivers to better understand their needs and carry out preliminary accessibility surveys in the community. They also will work with community members to improve accessibility through projects such as building ramps for public access or modifying mobility aids to make them more useable.

Living conditions in the Dominican Republic will be basic during most of the program. Students will have the opportunity to visit Santo Domingo and a coastal beach, practice speaking Spanish and enjoy local cuisine.

This program is supported by the Cecil Day Family Center for International Groundwater Innovation. The center’s goal is to help provide access to clean water to the world’s most water-poor communities by working with local stakeholders.

Lauren Folsom

I’ve always prayed that I would have a job that would allow me to impact people, and I didn’t realize how civil engineering could help me do this. This trip helped me see that I could use my future career to help people in different communities and my own community.

Lauren Folsom
Bachelor of Science in Engineering-Civil Engineering, ‘26

Academic Courses

Students are required to sign up for six hours of credit. The registrar will enroll you in courses for your program, including one class from each of the program's faculty.

  • ECV 491: Water, Infrastructure and Appropriate Technology in Developing Countries
  • ETM 591: Mobility and Accessibility in Developing Communities
  • ISE 491: Mobility and Accessibility in Developing Communities

Faculty

  • Dr. Laura Moody – Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management, School of Engineering
  • Dr. Natalia Cardelino – Assistant Professor of Environmental and Civil Engineering, School of Engineering

Latest MOM News

Interested?

Students interested in participating in a Mercer on Mission program will need to complete an online application before being considered for admission.
© Mercer University. All rights reserved.