Crystal Clear: An Interview with Ray Cantwell, (PhD Civil 0T7)

Engineering Newsletter: When did you graduate from Engineering at U of T?

Ray Cantwell: I graduated with a PhD from the Department of Civil Engineering November 2007. By November I was already three months into my placement in Asia, so I missed the ceremony. My wife and I happened to be in Bangkok that weekend, so I celebrated my convocation by enjoying a nice (Western) dinner and a movie.

EN: How did you become involved with your current project, to establish a new water filter program? Where exactly in the world are you?
 
RC: Many years ago, as a high school student, I traveled to Haiti to help build a school and orphanage. While there, I was overwhelmed by the lack of clean, safe and affordable drinking water. Over the years I resolved to help solve the global water and sanitation crisis that is killing so many people.

My current placement with Samaritan’s Purse Canada is funded, in part, by the Canadian International Development Agency’s International Youth Internship Program. I simply found the program on the internet. It was a great way to get my foot in the door as I start my career in the world of community development.

EN: Can you please explain your project to me?  

RC: This project focused on providing the rural community of Toul Prasat (near Poipet, Cambodia) improved access to safe drinking water. The aim of this five-month project was to establish a new household water program. The centre-piece of the program was a household-size slow sand filter called a BioSand Water Filter (BSF) that was developed by a Canadian scientist at the University of Calgary, Dr. David Manz. In addition to providing water filters and safe storage containers, our team has been working to improve the local health and hygiene practices through participatory hygiene promotion initiatives. The third pillar of the program is to promote technically and culturally appropriate solutions to open defecation (i.e. in a field). In addition to all of the usual practical and public health issues associated with open defecation, the citizens of Toul Prasat live in a recently de-mined area that still offers risk to those digging pits or wandering off the path.
 
EN: Are you working with a team? Who is the team made up of?

RC: I am working [with] a team of 1,204! My Canadian co-worker, Jenny Hong (University of Alberta Alumna), and I traveled to Cambodia to work with two Cambodians, Rena and Vutha. My main goal while in Cambodia is to enable Rena and Vutha to run the program for the months and years to come. Recognizing their urgent need for clean water and improved sanitation, the 1,200 families of Toul Prasat have fully engaged us in this project. In many ways, they are part of the team!

EN: Did your studies at Engineering @ U of T help contribute to your current project?

RC: Both my undergraduate (McMaster University) and graduate studies (University of Toronto) prepared me for this work. Many of the technical, analytical and problem-solving skills I developed while working on my PhD have been very useful. My experience in multidisciplinary collaborations in both academia and industry helped prepare me to work effectively with the many stakeholders and partners in our project. Also, living and studying in the culturally diverse U of T community prepared me to work in another culture.

EN: Have you had any unexpected on-the-job learning experiences with your current project that you didn’t expect when you started?

RC: That sounds like a trick question! Almost daily I learned in unexpected ways from the community and my co-workers. Development is a tricky business. With so many stories of failure and disappointment in relief and development, I hope that my training as a learner will steer this and future projects to success. 

EN: What do you plan to do after this project is complete?

RC: I will return to Asia with Samaritan’s Purse as the Regional Manager for Asia of the Household Water Program. Through this role, I will oversee ongoing projects in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, implement new projects and scale-up our ongoing activities. The position will also involve a strategic focus on research that furthers the implementation of the BioSand Water Filter and improves the community-based health and hygiene interventions. For more information please visit the website.


 

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