The Fellowship Program Begins!

The CWS Fellowship Program kicked off without a hitch! Amaia Noguera, Ben Powell, James Little, Molly Barrett, and Sarah Britz, our first team of CWS Fellows, spent the week learning about the global water crisis, the water treatment process, the CWS Approach for bringing clean water to its communities, as well as getting to know Tamale and the various CWS villages.

DAY ONE:

The Fellows began their program in the “classroom”. For the first half of the day, after introductions and some review of the program itinerary, we settled in to review the history of the Global Water Crisis, the various approaches to water treatment, the background of Community Water Solutions, and the CWS approach for village implementations. For the second half of the day though, we let the fellows loose to explore Tamale through a little scavenger hunt! What was on the list? Various items that one can find in the open market and surrounding stands and stores, if one has a sharp eye that is. A price cap of 25 Ghanaian Cedis was given to make sure the Fellows had to negotiate appropriate prices and truly have a Ghanaian experience. They were dropped off in downtown Tamale with the 25 Cedis and enough money to take a taxi to find their way to the restaurant where we were all meeting for dinner.

The Fellows' booty from the Tamale Scavenger Hunt!

The Fellows returned successful! (Though they did have to settle for Nescafe rather than ground coffee.)

The following items were on the scavenger hunt list:

Anything with Pres. Obama’s picture on it
4 tomatoes
6 Chicken eggs (not guinea fowl)
One bag of groundnut paste
One bag of curry powder
Coke Lite
1 Meter of fabric with orange and blue
1 pound ground coffee
Any Tom Cruise movie

DAY TWO:

The next day, the team started off with a hands on lesson in the CWS water treatment process, starting with rolling alum balls and removing the turbidity in the same manner in which they would be teaching their village when we sent them into the field. We even had them use actual dam water from one of our villages. (Jerigu)

The Fellows learning how to roll Alum balls

Candid Shot with our Alum Balls. From left to right: Shak, Amaia, Sarah, James, Ben, Mike, and Molly

Particle Removal: Using Alum to removal turbidity.

James, Ben and Sarah. Fascinated by the magic of their Alum balls.

Ta da! Within hours, the particles have settled and the water is clear.

Following the simulation of the treatment process, the Fellows saw their first villages. They visited 3 treatment center sites, Jerigu, Cheko, and Nyamaliga.

The Fellows go to see their first village dam. (Ben and Amaia shown)

Shak and the Fellows at the Nyamaliga Dam.

DAY THREE:

Day three began with visits to other water-focused organizations working in the Tamale region.

Samuel from Unicef discussing the organization's work concerning water health in Ghana with the Fellows

Following Unicef, the group visits New Energy, a local development NGO in Tamale

Osmond from New Energy discusses the many projects the organization has undertaken

Osmond shows New Energy's design for an improved hand-pump well

All of the New Energy campus is powered by these solar panels, another of the organization's specialties

The Fellows took the remainder of the day to explore Tamale a little more and rest up for the long day they had coming.

DAY FOUR:

Saturday, the Fellows embarked on the journey to Gidanturu to visit a treatment center in action. We began our day, and the long drive ahead of us, with the greatest treat Ghana offers, and the highlight of many of our days at CWS. A delicious egg sandwich, or as the Ghanaians call it, “eggs and bread”. Delicious.

The Gidanturu treatment center was busier than ever! The Fellows watched the clean water flow as they got to know the children, the women, and the monkey of this lively village!