The Emlaleni Mabovini bridge is currently under construction. The student team consists of Emmanuel Francois, Samuel Apaez, Ricardo Barker, Amy Navarro, and Kaytlynn Mancinelli. The team had the privilege of working and traveling with two of the past project managers, Alex Hintze and Carolina Velez.

The proposed footbridge will provide safe and reliable access for the Mkhulamini community to the rest of the Manzini region. The population directly served by the bridge consists of 3750 individuals, a third of whom are children. The existing facilities of the surrounding area feature schools, churches, grocery stores and healthcare clinics. In addition, much of the surrounding land is used for farmland or residential homesteads. Per the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)’s report on Eswatini, over 70% of the country’s rural population is dependent upon subsistence agriculture. The access provided by this bridge will propel the economy forward for the Mkhulamini people, who are mainly farmers, giving them the opportunity to sell or trade items like maize, spinach, goats, cattle, and chicken. These people will gain consistent access to education, health care, and local markets through the construction of the proposed bridge.

The Maphikelela Bridge was completed in July 2020. The student team consisted of Alexander Hintze, Maximo Bravo, Samantha Robinson, and Esther Mitchell. The FAU team travel to the site to assist in the construction of the bridge. Unfortunately, their trip was cut short when due travel restrictions.

The bridge is currently serving 1,200 people of Malangenini, Busheletini and Bulimeni communities in the Maphalaleni inkhundla. The project beneficiaries include the 500 school-going children currently crossing the Mkhomati River. The primary economic activities of these communities are subsistence crop farming and cattle rearing.