Civil Engineer Milly Hennayake first got involved with Engineers Without Borders UK at university. After working as a volunteer with them in the UK, she was sent out as a volunteer engineer to Nairobi to work with KDI, a Kenyan design and community non-profit working on innovative water management and sanitation projects in Kibera, one of the most densely populated slums in Africa.

Engineers without Borders UK are on a mission to focus the attention of engineers on making the world a better place. They’ve supported partners throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America to increase access to clean water, improved sanitation facilities, reliable energy sources and resilient built environments.

KDI is a design and community non-profit that partners with under-resourced communities to activate the unrealised potential in neighbourhoods and cities through design, planning, research and advocacy.

Milly Hennayake studied Civil Engineering at Cambridge University. She has worked with Engineers Without Borders to inspire train and support university engineers across the country to partner with international NGOs. She’s worked in Sierra Leone, Brazil, DRC and Kenya on development and engineering projects.

Milly is now working as a civil engineer for an engineering design consultancy Ove Arup Partners, working on surface water management and flood risk projects.