How a network of bridges connects 1.7 million isolated people

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Ken Frantz was flipping through a copy of National Geographic Magazine While waiting for his car to be repaired in 2001, he came across an article about a rafting expedition on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile. It was not the story that captivated him as much as the accompanying photograph of locals crossing the partially collapsed Sebara Dildiy (“broken”) bridge. A man, hanging precariously from a frayed rope, was being dragged across the chasm. This was part of the daily commute.

Frantz, owner of a construction company in Virginia, was determined to repair the bridge. This was not an easy task, especially for an outsider, as he had to enlist the support of both the village elders and government officials. He also had to find the right company to design the new span of the bridge; the only way to transport construction materials was by donkey; and the locals would have to help with the labor. But within a year, foot and livestock traffic was safely crossing a previously impassable section of the river.

We can literally save people from poverty

Its success, more than 20 years ago, was the incentive for Bridges to prosperity, a US and African-based charity dedicated to building bridges to improve lives in rural communities. Its objective? End poverty caused by rural isolation. To date, the organization has built more than 480 bridges in 21 countries, connecting 1.7 million previously isolated people to the resources they need. Most are completed in 12 weeks, using local labor and materials provided by the host country’s government, at a cost of approximately $100,000 each. On average, each bridge pays for itself in two years. This year, the organization hopes to complete eight bridges in Uganda and 35 in Rwanda, with a three-year plan to build 150 in Ethiopia.

Bridges to Prosperity is now led by Kenya-based CEO Nivi Sharma (Frantz remains on the board). A 2016 document by the World Bank found that approximately one billion people worldwide (one in seven) are rurally isolated, meaning they live more than 2 km from a year-round road. . Bridges to Prosperity used this information, plus other input including population density and topographic studies, to determine that a river or gorge was blocking access to those roads for about a quarter of this number, and that an overwhelming number of them lives in sub-Saharan Africa. .

“A randomized control trial found [after building a bridge there was] a 75 percent increase in agricultural profits, a 60 percent increase in women’s literacy and labor income, a 30 percent increase in household income, a 22 percent increase in school attendance overall and a 200 percent increase in girls’ attendance,” notes Sharma, adding, “We can literally bridge [people] out of poverty”.

“The impact is enormous,” agrees Imena Munyampenda, director general of the Rwanda Transport Development Agency, which first partnered with Bridges to Prosperity in 2019. The “land of a thousand hills” has 82 percent of its population living in rural areas. “If it takes an hour to cross a river, with a bridge, it takes 15 minutes at most.”

The bridges are standardized steel-deck cable-suspended designs, modified from Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation plans, and are not complicated to build or maintain. Sharma jokes that, in terms of infrastructure, the trail bridge plans were akin to “telling a fancy restaurant to put a cheese sandwich on their menu.” Which is good, because Rwanda alone needs 1,500 of them and, Sharma maintains, it is not the job of Bridges to Prosperity, or philanthropy in general, to build them all. “We want to go from being infrastructure builders to being facilitators. We want to support, help and influence the construction of these bridges, but the infrastructure must be built by the government and the private sector. “That is the most sustainable way to implement this at scale and solve the problem at scale.” During our lives, no less.

Thanks to its success, the organization has become a magnet for countries seeking help with infrastructure problems. It has conducted needs assessments in Tanzania and Zambia and is in talks with the Malawi government to explore solutions for trail bridges and broader rural frameworks. There is also a corporate program where companies involved in architecture, engineering and civil planning can send 10 employees for a two-week period to help complete a bridge and share best practices.

“This day was going to come,” says Sharma. “We have been terribly studious for the last 20 years. We put our heads down and analyze the data, the evidence, the engineering. “Now is the time to let learning leave the building.”

Four more organizations harnessing the power of architecture

Engineers without borders

For two decades, this network of engineers, with chapters in two dozen countries around the world, has provided services to help communities meet their basic needs. This ranges from the construction of pedestrian bridges to the installation of solar panels and excavations for water, in partnerships between the communities served and volunteers. ewb-internacional.org, ewb-usa.org

Habitat for humanity

The global housing nonprofit, founded 47 years ago, has helped more than 46 million people in around 70 countries build their own homes, with the help of volunteers. The company, based in Georgia, USA, announced a Clinton Global Initiative commitment to help 15 million people living in “informal settlements” gain access to decent housing by 2028. habitat.org

World Archive

Archive: Architecture for Health works with communities to fight preventable diseases through better housing design (such as mosquito-proof housing in Namibia to reduce malaria). This year she joined forces with the International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) and continues to partner with local groups to build cost-effective and scalable improvements. archiveglobal.org

Urgence Architects

Emergency Architects focuses on restoring infrastructure (hospitals, schools, water supply, roads) in post-disaster situations, from damage assessment and emergency assistance to reconstruction and development. Founded in 2001, the organization currently has branches in France, Canada and Switzerland, with more than 125 programs in 41 countries. archi-urgent.com