Parsons “Gives Back” by Building a Footbridge in Colombia
PASADENA, CA (September 14, 2016) – Parsons, in partnership with Bridges to Prosperity, recently sent an 11-member team of its infrastructure and construction experts to La Guaya—a small town of 1,000 people outside of Bogota, Colombia—to build a 58-m footbridge over the La Guaya River. The river was impassable in bad weather, requiring the community to take a 2-hour detour to access markets, schools, and medical services. The new bridge provides the La Guaya community with access to necessary services during the rainy season. This is the first footbridge-building project in Colombia for both Parsons and Bridges to Prosperity—a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing isolated communities with access to essential healthcare, education, and economic opportunities by building footbridges over impassible rivers.
“Parsons has a long history of giving back to the communities it serves,” said Michael Johnson, Parsons Group President. “Through our Parsons Gives Back Program, we consistently evaluate the needs of these communities and determine where we can help the most. That’s why we became Bridges to Prosperity’s Country Sponsor last year and made a commitment to lend our advice, expertise, and hard work to this life-changing project.”
For 2 weeks, Parsons’ team worked side-by-side with representatives from Bridges to Prosperity, local nonprofit partner Puentes de la Esperanza, and local residents to construct the bridge. Parsons’ multinational team consisted of a wide range of staff from several offices, including project managers, engineers, business development managers, and constructors.
“Parsons is known as a leader in design and construction of major infrastructure around the world. In fact, Parsons has completed more than 4,500 bridges across the globe, and we provided engineering services to meld together two bridge designs for this project,” said Joanne McCall, Parsons Senior Vice President and executive sponsor for the team. “This small footbridge will have a profound and immediate impact on the lives of a remote community, which is a humbling reminder that contributing our skills and expertise makes a real difference. The team was very excited to be a part of this build.”
About Parsons
Parsons, celebrating more than 70 years of growth in the engineering, construction, technical, and professional services industries, is a leader in many diversified markets with a focus on infrastructure, industrial, federal, and construction. Parsons delivers design/design-build, program/construction management, and other professional services packaged in innovative alternative delivery methods to federal, regional, and local government agencies, as well as to private industrial customers worldwide. For more about Parsons, please visit www.parsons.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
About Bridges to Prosperity
Bridges to Prosperity is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to the eradication of extreme poverty through rural infrastructure development focused on footbridges. Since its founding in 2001, Bridges to Prosperity has served more than 700,000 people with the construction of more than 200 footbridges in 18 countries. In addition to providing much-needed mobility, these bridge projects serve to teach footbridge construction to local communities and provide opportunities for leadership development and personal growth through international collaboration. Learn more at www.bridgestoprosperity.org and watch social media for #B2PColombia.
About Puentes de la Esperanza
Puentes de la Esperanza is a civilian initiative of responsible co-participation whose purpose is to help rural communities that suffer mobility difficulties due to the absence of safe pedestrian crossing above rivers and streams. Learn more at http://www.puentesdelaesperanza.org/es.
