Twenty-two years ago, genocide claimed the lives of over 800,000 men, women and children of Rwanda, and the country is still recovering. Now, University of Wollongong students are putting their own needs aside to make a difference in the third world country.

Engineering students have decided to take their skills across the sea to a small Rwandan village called Ruhung, where preschool children go without food and water, and it affects their ability to learn at school.

UOW Engineering students, Tim Crawley, Daniel Simpson and Lachlan Green, will travel to Rwanda next month to build a sheltered eating area and kitchen for the preschool. They will also build a water system so the children can drink clean water without getting sick.