It's kind of crazy that I'm actually up here right now doing that.

I feel like there's so much energy in this room, and I'm surrounded by people who deeply care about the world and want to make a positive impact.

I'm kind of curious how many of you here today want to do good in the world.

Don't be shy.

If you've ever asked yourself, How can I do good?

I want you to raise your hand.

That's a lot of you.

This is a question that I asked myself a lot, too.

How can I do good?

In the past two years or so, I've began to ask myself a different question.

How can I do good?

Better?

I want to know how my actions and contributions impact others, and I want to know the best ways to help.

I want to be good at doing good.

My goal today is to get as many of you as I can to start thinking about that question, too.

How can I do good?

Better And I want to show you that the key to doing this is doing research and learning as much as you can about the problem that you're trying to solve.

My name is Veba, and I'm the former president of the M I T Engineers without Borders chapter I want to share with you today three ways of researching that I've learned through volunteering with E W B about how to be more effective at hoping others.

The community that we've been working with for the past 2.5 years is a village called Yucatan E of about 3000 residents.

The project cycle for Hours Club consists of three stages, assessment, implementation and monitoring.

Our project last year was designing and installing a solar powered water pump.

It was through this project that I learned that the more thoroughly you do the assessment phase, the more likely it is that your project will succeed.

We researched Muka Chinese climate and culture, different types of water pumps, various manufacturers and contractors, local government policies.

It wasn't until I started this project that I've earned that Tanzania has been taking strides to use more solar energy, and this was a large basis for choosing a pump that's powered by the sun in order to effectively solve a problem, you have to fully understand it and what's been done before.

Research, the fax, the data, the trends, research, important stakeholders and their roles in the problem and solution research.

Possible technical approaches and you can evaluate the pros and cons.

The second thing I learned about researching to do good better is that sometimes you have to do research yourself.

For us, that meant going to the community and talking to people.

Our original project wasn't actually a solar pump.

It was an irrigation system to help the crops in Bogota Negro during the dry season.

It wasn't until two of our members traveled to Tanzania and talked to the move a tiny village leaders that we learned that the Villagers didn't want this irrigation system at all.

In fact, it could have actually caused conflict between families.

Do two unequal shares of water from the irrigation system.

We had no idea that this could have been a problem, and if we had gone through with this project without extensive week talking to the community, we would have not only spent thousands of dollars on an unnecessary system, but we would have upset the community's social balance.

There are so many aspects that you can never find.

With all the information on the Internet, you have to be curious and willing to listen to find those out research by asking questions, conducting surveys or experiments and talking to the people that you're trying to help include others every single step of the way.

Now I want to talk about what I have found to be most essential when trying to do good.

Some call it soul searching.

I call it soul researching.

I believe that self awareness is the key when you're trying to do a project for the good of others, to overcoming roadblocks and staying motivated when things aren't going as planned.

Remember the development cycle I showed?

Well, it's actually a little more like this.

And this and this and this.

There have been times when I am Boggs down with schoolwork or other responsibilities, and it's really hard to make time for engineers without borders, especially when it feels like progress is slow.

It's during thes moments that I have to remind myself why I joined E W B in the first place.

It isn't because I want to engineer something no, my classes satisfying my technical cravings.

But I joined E W.

B because I believe that everyone has the right to basic needs.

To me, basic needs being fulfilled is the first step in making sure people have the energy to go to school and that education is what empowers people to pursue their own goals.

This core value is what has motivated me to pursue leadership opportunities and to complete technical fans and travel to Tanzania to install a water pump.

Whatever problem it is that you're trying to solve, you have to understand why it's important to you research your motives, your personal bulls, evaluate your skills and what you can do specifically to contribute.

Be aware of your role in the larger picture.

Do some soul researching to find the significance of the problem in your life and hold on to that when things aren't going as planned.

In the end, our implementation trip was successful and we were able to increase access to clean drinking water for the residents of Muga Tani.

Now we're in the monitoring phase to make sure that the pump continues to meet the needs of the residents and have developed a manual that will help Mu Patani technicians to operate and repair the pump themselves.

Throughout my experiences with Engineers Without Borders and this project, I've learned that thes three ways of researching understanding the problem by finding the fax going deeper by learning to listen and using so researching to overcome obstacles.

Thes three ways have helped me answer the question.

How can I do good?

Better So as you all go home tonight with all these amazing ideas from the Ted talks And as you start to think about whatever problem it is that you're trying to tackle, no matter how big or small I want you to get started.

I want you to do your research.

Thank you.