Sheena Ong is an engineer and EWB member who has always been fascinated by the idea of engineers as humanitarians, believing that engineers have the power to improve lives and create social change.
Volunteering with EWB, she often heard the phrase “humanitarian engineer” but never knew quite what it meant or to whom, exactly, it referred.
After graduating from the University of Western Australia in mid-2013, and encouraged by the opportunity to start a personal project as part of the Mickey Sampson leadership program, Sheena decided to make a documentary to answer these questions.
Armed with this vision, blind optimism, eight months of post-uni “limbo” and absolutely zero film-making experience, she researched and crowdfunded the concept, drawing friends, family and wider networks into supporting it and following her project online.
Interviewing people across three Australian states, sourcing equipment, filming, editing and learning post-production techniques, the learning curve was steep. Sheena gratefully acknowledges the guidance and technical support from friends, family and online videos/forums.