Members of Missouri S&T’s Engineers Without Borders student chapter are putting an upcoming trip to Honduras on hold due to the political situation in that country.

Some 20 students from Missouri S&T were planning to travel to Honduras Aug. 2-12 to continue humanitarian work in Santiago, a town of about 6,000. Last year, students installed a 2,000-gallon water tank in Santiago, built rainwater collection systems and provided water filters for individual homes. Katie Fritts, president of the Missouri S&T chapter of EWB, said the team’s travel plans were put on hold following a conference call on Wednesday with representatives of EWB’s national organization. Those representatives told S&T students that the trip would have to be postponed until the political situation in Honduras stabilizes.

Last Sunday, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was ousted by the army and was flown into exile in Costa Rica.

Fritts, a mechanical engineering major from Kansas City, Mo., said the August trip included plans to improve communication between the group and area residents, to install a rainwater collection system, and to complete project plans that include the installation of a pump to bring water from a spring at the bottom of a steep ridge to the village above.

Fritts said EWB-USA officials would reassess the situation in a few weeks to determine whether to allow the team to travel to Honduras in August or postpone the trip. If the visit is postponed, Fritts said the team would try to reschedule it for December during the semester break.

More information about Missouri S&T’s EWB chapter is available online at www.ewb-mst.org.