With Sam doing such an awesome job running CWS’ operations in the States, I’ve jet-setted back to Ghana to start prepping for our Summer Fellows! They arrive in Tamale one month from today and the entire CWS-Ghana team is so excited for them to get here.

I arrived in Tamale yesterday and was thrilled to finally see the new CWS office, which we moved into in March! I’m in the process of setting everything up inside, but for now, here are some pictures of the outside:

Our new digs are bigger, in a safe neighborhood and pretty much the same price as our last place. We couldn’t be happier in this new spot!

March and April have been two very busy and exciting months for CWS. We’ve hired Sam, our new US Director of Operations and Development, welcomed 28 new Fellows into our Summer Fellowship Program and most recently, have hired Kathryn Padgett to be our new Ghana Country Director! Kathryn was one of our 2011 Winter Fellows and constantly impressed us with her passion for development and her valuable insights regarding CWS’ long-term sustainability in Ghana.

So, without further ado, meet Kathryn:

I have to echo Sam’s excitement and enthusiasm for our upcoming work with the incredible CWS team – I am proud to be a part of this organization, and I am counting down the days until my position formally begins!

I graduate in May from Georgetown University in Washington, DC with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service in Science, Technology and International Affairs and a Certificate in International Development (what a mouthful!). A Community Water Solutions fellowship last December gave me the opportunity to see all this theory in practice. More than that, my experiences in Ghana invigorated me with a sense of possibility. I was thrilled to be able help the villagers of Kpalbusi create a unique system that will ensure their access to clean, safe drinking water indefinitely.  The challenges and successes we faced as a team and community were all part of a positive process of creation and revision that ultimately lead to a working system that myself, my teammates, our new business managers and the whole village could take pride in, and set a great precedent of teamwork and cooperation. Seeing clean water filling up the line of blue buckets beside Kpalbusi’s dirty, croc-infested dugout was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life, and the expressions on the faces of all those around me told me I was not alone in this sentiment.

I see these next few months as a similar challenge of problem-solving and collaboration on a larger scale. One of my biggest responsibilities will be to unpack today’s buzzword of “sustainability” in the CWS context. Continued monitoring of established projects and critically evaluating our methods and models, as well as fostering new, beneficial partnerships will all be part of this process. Luckily CWS has an incredible and growing team and circle of advisors, partners and supporters to help the organization sustain its momentum and success. Again, I am excited for this opportunity to continue to be a part of the growing Community Water Solutions family, and can’t wait to get back to Tamale to the friendly faces that made my December experience so meaningful.

– Kathryn

Born in New York, raised in Maryland, a Clemson graduate, a love for helping people and drive to make a difference. It is my second day as a member of the CWS Team and I couldn’t be more excited! I have found the job that I am extremely passionate about and an organization I am so proud to be a part of.

I graduated Clemson in 2008 with a Bachelor’s in Health Science with a concentration in Promotion & Education and a minor in Psychology. Upon graduation I was able to spend three months in South Africa as Project Materials Developer for a non-profit located within Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital. I was able to gain insight to the current health issues lying within Africa and the social aspects surrounding those concerns.  I had fallen in love with international development. I had returned back to Maryland with the drive to conquer the field and with a job market with very little options. I didn’t let that discourage me and continued to stay focused with what I ultimately wanted.

In the Winter of 2011 I was selected as a Fellow for Community Water Solutions. I was thrilled to get back to Africa and to get first-hand experience on the current global water crisis. In my first day in Ghana I was shocked at the dire need for water improvement. Seeing children dip their hands in water that animals defecate in and water bottles filled with water more murky then our rainy day street puddles hurt my heart. It didn’t take long for us to see the how greatly we were needed to help give these people something so simple—Clean water. And the most amazing thing, it would only take three weeks to do so.

The Ghanaians greeted us with arms wide open. I was amazed at the great sense of community and the way they looked out for one another with a “no man left behind” attitude. They took the matter very seriously and were there every step of the process. In completing our time in Ghana I left the village, Chanaayilli, with great confidence that the community would sustain their water treatment center and provide a clean water source for their community indefinitely.

In my return to the US I knew CWS was something I wanted to stay a part of. I had seen that the project had truly worked—there was no doubt in my mind that CWS would continue to grow and succeed in bringing people clean water. When I was offered a position on the CWS Team I knew this was an opportunity I could NOT pass up! I am so excited to see the places CWS will go and so proud to be a part of it!

-Sam