Quails take flight to Nicaragua

Mechanical engineer Rob Quail, his wife Helen and their two children are heading off to Nicaragua, where he will be working on community projects as well as training young engineers.

One project will be the expansion of Tesoros de Dios, one of the few support centres in Nicaragua’s capital Managua dedicated to providing education and a range of physical and holistic therapies for children and young people with disabilities. Tesoros de Dios is an extremely valuable project, and one that Rob is proud to be a part of.

“What excites me about this project is that we're working with families there who are working in a very challenging home environment, taking the best possible care they can of their child with learning disabilities but it's immensely difficult for them. Being able to help a charity that supports those families and gives the children a fun and creative learning environment that is life changing for all involved – it's hard to overestimate the impact that Tesoros de Dios has on the families that attend. It's great to be able to see design and development put to good use to support such worthy causes.”

Rob will be working with Engineering Ministries International (EMI), a non-profit Christian organisation with offices throughout Central America, Africa and Asia that facilitates the building of schools, hospitals and therapy centres. One of EMI’s priorities is to use the expertise of local engineers and architects, as well as training and employing prospective engineers and architects, ensuring that new projects best serve the communities they are built for.

Having worked as a mechanical engineer for 20 years through various sectors including energy and building services, Rob now focuses on project management through his consultancy Open Gates Management, which specialises in the restoration of historic church buildings. This focus will follow him as he works with EMI, as he reviews the development group’s older projects to see what worked well and seeks out new opportunities for the organisation to support other charities.

“I will be focusing on managing teams, and winning work. What we want to see happen is more of the projects that are being designed, are getting built. We really want to be able to see an impact on the ground.”

Both he and Helen, who is a psychology teacher, share a deep passion for their work overseas. Rob worked with EMI in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, on the design of a fish farm training centre in 2009, and they both worked together on another project in Danlí, Honduras, for the design of a pastor training centre and holiday camp in 2012.

They are now busy planning the logistics of their next trip to Central America, which includes security training and intensive Spanish lessons, with the aim of them settling into a new life in Nicaragua for the next five years.

If you would like to find out more please visit the Quails’ adventure and EMI.