“The Humanitarian Bridgebuilder”

Toni "El Suizo" Ruttimann was hosted by several groups from MIT, including SIGUS. After an earthquake struck Ecuador in 1987, Toni left Switzerland immediately after graduating from high school, determined to help in any way he could. With no technical background, he invented a method of building suspension bridges by hand through community involvement, with little money, using steel cables and pipeline donated by oil companies. 17 years later, 234 bridges have been built across Latin America, Cambodia, and Vietnam, helping over 600,000 people.