Akwaaba (as they say here in the south of Ghana) to all our Winter 2017 Field Reps! Caleb, Wyatt, Erin, Sarah, Shanelle, Joanne, Shane, Qingyi, Louis, Micah, Caroline, Elijah, Lexie, Maureen, Tess, Yu, Mona-Mae, Alex C, Ann, Kalin, Matt, Zulean, Shaminika, Kevin, Walker, Morgan, Nikita, Terynek, Yueyue, Alex K, Becky, Laura, Olivia and Shannon all arrived safely throughout the day today and yesterday, even despite some Harmattan flight cancellations in Accra.
Tomorrow, the fun begins! Most of us are busing up to Tamale right now, and the late-comers (Shane, Louis, Sarah and Lexie) will bus up with Ghana Program Director Peter Friday! Then it’s orientation, so stay tuned.
You may have noticed we’re a bit behind on our Monitoring updates these days, but with good reason! Saha is revamping our data collection and distribution methods, which will make it easier for you to understand how all 93 of our communities are doing.
Saha’s growth in recent years is extremely exciting for many reasons, but during the process we outgrew our ability to keep up the old style of village-by-village monitoring updates. The goal in the coming months is to be more transparent with how our daily visits go, and have more comprehensive summaries each month for both water and solar centers.
But of course change takes time, so we hope you’ll understand the delays! Check back soon for more.
Several months ago we had a number of inquiries from recent Saha Global alumni about the availability of shirts, mugs, or other gear to show their support. After careful consideration, collaboration, polling, and number crunching, we have decided to make several designs/items available to Saha supporters!
By purchasing Saha gear, you are supporting the process that is at the heart and soul of program. That is, you envision an ongoing process of helping communities thrive, not survive. You support the process of educating individuals and the subsequent ongoing sustainability in order to build a business that meet their community’s basic needs and improve their quality of life.
The availability of these items is not limited to anyone! If you’re alumni who have been looking for a way to engage others about the work you did abroad – we’ve got you covered. If you’re a soon-to-be participant in the Global Leadership Program and you want to don some new threads while working in the Northern Region – look no further. If you’re a donor (past, present, future) and you support the ongoing work of Saha Global – grab a tee and share how your contribution helped combat the global water crisis.
But we wanted to do more than just sell gear, we wanted to make this campaign, which we’re dubbing #Sahaswag, interactive. If you are to purchase gear and upload a photo of you with your gear to Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook with the hashtag #SahaSwag, then you will be automatically entered into an ongoing monthly feature on our website! Selfies, serene settings, and of course, jumping photos, are all strongly encouraged.
What’s even BETTER about this project? 100% of the proceeds generated from it will be directed back into the ongoing programs to improve the quality of life of those in the developing regions in which Saha works.
We hope to eventually make gear available on an ongoing basis and we’re open to suggestions on what to make a staple in our inventory. In our Google Form, you will find a section at the bottom to include questions, comments, sizing suggestions, additional orders, etc. You remain a part of who we are and who we will continue to be, so your opinion is important! Thanks for your continued attention and support!
All of the newly implemented villages from the GLP Summer 2016 are running very well!
The following villages had 6/6 during at least 1 visit: Sagbarigu, Naha, Galinkpegu, Warvi, Moya, Tindan II.
Kalinka, Moya, Komonaayili, Gburma, Kushini and Kagburashe are planning ahead to move their centers as their dugouts are getting flooded.
There are 18 new households (16 Fulani) in Tunga and Peter gave them safe storage containers.
The entrepreneurs of Kushini plan to open a bank account soon!
Challenges:
As it’s the rainy season, most of the villages have low sales with their water business because people are harvesting rainwater.
Villages that have problems with their water businesses are:
Chandanyili, Tijo, and Laligu have dry dugouts, and their centers are closed. Chandanyili plans to move the center to a new dugout. Djelo and Sagbarigu polytank taps were leaking and they couldn’t treat water, but that is fixed now. Kalinka and Chandanyili polytank taps broke and have been fixed.During lab testing week some households came out with total coliform and E. coli. Staff followed up with households that came out with positive results and give advice.
Villages with problems with their solar businesses are:
Kurugu Voyili, Djelo, and Vogyili complain of lamp batteries problems. They don’t last long after charge and sometimes people don’t want to pay for batteries that are not well charged. The door to Djelo solar center is broken by a storm and needs to be fixed. Two families in Chani have purchased batteries for their lamps, and some other people in that village want to buy batteries too. Nekpegu and Chani have complaints about their lamps and lamp batteries. Yapalsi has a genset problem but they have electricity now. It was mentioned that Kpanshegu had some households complaining of not getting lamps during implementation and Amin is to find out from the assembly man why their names were omitted from the household list. Bamvim solar center was leaking and has been fixed now. With Solar, Kurugu Vohoyili batteries are dead and Nekpegu have no battery chargers as all are broken. There is a plan to have a meeting in Nekpegu with the community to discuss price for charging phones as women entrepreneurs complain.
Clean Water Entrepreneurship Program in Ghana Earns Prestigious Support for Saha Global’s Co-Founder
$100,000 Fellowship Grant Awarded to Boston Visionary Kate Cincotta
BOSTON, MASS. (Issued Fall 2016)— Dagomba people in the African country of Ghana use the Dagbanli word saha to mean ‘opportunity.’
A major opportunity to use this word in the country’s rural areas the arrived with the launch of Saha Global (www.sahaglobal.org) in 2008. Co-founded by Kate (Clopeck) Cincotta andfellow MIT graduate Vanessa Green, Saha Global’s frontline work is entirely in Ghana. A small Boston staff handles volunteer recruitment and fundraising.
Saha provides cheap, clean drinking water to people living in rural communities by training women how to take advantage of the resources available to them and donating the capital that they need to start a clean water business. To date, Saha has launched 93 water businesses in Ghana. 100% are still in operation.
The Vision: A Better Life for Children
In recognition of her work, the Mulago Foundation of San Francisco chose Cincotta to join itsprestigious Fall 2016 Rainer Arnhold Fellows Program where participants “focus on their ideas and a systematic way to apply them. Saha is receiving two $50,000 grants — a total of $100,000 over two years. Founded in 1993, Mulago carries on the work of pediatrician/philanthropist Rainer Arnhold, “to bring a better life for children in poverty… (to support) organizations that tackle a basic need of the very poor, have a scalable solution, and know how to deliver it.” That’s exactly us!” smiles Cincotta, pointing to the organization’s motto, ‘Solving problems with opportunities.’
The course brought Fellows and faculty together for an intensive week to work on design for maximum impact and scalability. Held in Bolinas, California, the course gave Fellows the rare opportunity to focus completely on their ideas and a systematic way to apply them.
What caught the attention of Mulago?Cincotta says it’s Saha’s 100% success rate, simple approach, and commitment to long-term monitoring and evaluation.
Creating A Permanent Source of Clean Water
Cincotta says, “Saha is the first water organization selected by Mulago for the Fellows program. We both believe that Saha cannot only serve the poorest of the poor, but we also have the potential to scale. The key is simplicity. Our water treatment centers use all locally available, affordable, low-tech products. It costs Saha less than $12 to provide a permanent source of clean water to one person. Other organizations average around $20 – 25 per person.”
Reflecting on the course, Cincitta says, “Mulago is different than any other funder we’ve had. They are a true partner in every sense of the word. They want to work with us to help us grow and achieve maximum impact, and understand that there will be challenges along the way.”
She adds, “We’re really proud of the impact we’ve had so far: Over 45,000 people in Ghana now have permanent access to safe drinking water.” But there are 800,000 in Northern Region Ghana who still lack access to clean water. Fueled by its partnership with Mulago, Saha’s goal is to rapidly scale in northern Ghana, doubling its impact by 2018, to reach over 400,000 people in the next 5 years.
Still Facing Tough Challenges
Saha Global certainly chose two of Ghana’s toughest challenges: (1) There’s a very high risk of food or waterborne diseases such as diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; and (2) The biggest single economic issue is the lack of consistent electricity. Things are improving, though average life expectancy is just 66 years, per capita income is $4,300, and the 2015 inflation rate was 17%.
Green and Cincotta understood that the water needs in Ghana were not due to a lack of technical solutions. “We knew the challenge lay in the implementation of those solutions in the field. We developed a durable implementation model, community-scale, low-tech, social enterprise approach that formed the foundation of Saha Global’s model.” They raised funds to pilot the idea from the Public Service Center at MIT, then headed back to Ghana in 2008 to found Saha Global.
In another project, Saha is helping local entrepreneurs use solar energy to light lanterns so children can study at night, and to charge cell phones – also for a small profit.
Twice each year, Saha Global recruits and trains scores of college students in social entrepreneurship. Volunteers spend three weeks in Ghanaian villages helping to set up micro-businesses. In each village, the community designates two women to learn how to chlorinate water and sell it to fellow villagers for a small profit.
College students interested in being Field Reps in Ghana can learn more at the Saha Global website. Saha Global also seeks individual donations, Corporate Partners and Field Rep Sponsors. For more info, email [email protected] or visit www.sahaglobal.org.As a 501(c)(3) organization, donations are tax-exempt to the extent allowed by law. Donations may be made online or via check made out to Saha Global, and mailed to 26 West Broadway #302, Boston, MA 02127.
My name is Jeremy Lakin and I’m originally from Reading, PA. After graduating from high school in Lancaster, PA I moved to NYC to attend NYU. I graduated in May 2015 with a BA in politics and Romance Languages. While I was lucky enough to be introduced to the water and sanitation through an internship at charity: water I really wanted to get first hand experience working with populations affected by a lack of access to clean drinking water. I found Saha on a whim when I was looking for jobs after college and immediately fell in love with Saha’s mission and model, particularly its dedication to monitoring.
I went with this past winter group in 2015-2016 and worked in a village called Futa, about 45 mins away from our home base in Tamale. One of the moments that I will never forget is visiting this one household a few days after we opened the clean water business. The woman that lived there told us that she recently had a visitor from Tamale visit her. When she offered him water he turned it down at first, but when she showed him she had clean, safe drinking water he was amazed. The smile on her face and the pride she expressed is something I’ll never forget. It really put the water crisis into new perspective for me. It isn’t just a health crisis, but a crisis of dignity and pride, and Saha addresses all of these needs.
I’m so grateful for this opportunity because it gave me invaluable field experience. All the reading and classwork can’t prepare you for being the first foreigner a child meets, or how to react when your polytank springs a leak. This experience affirmed my desire for a career in international development. I recently finished a six month internship with Global Health Corps. I’m a finalist for Global Health Corps’ highly selective fellowships and have been accepted to SIPA at Columbia thanks in great part to Saha Global.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions about the Saha Global Leadership Program at [email protected]. You can also learn more about me and check in to see what I’m up to now here!
Every month Saha’s Manager Eric sits down with one of our entrepreneurs to ask her about her work and life beyond Saha.
Samata was born in Wa in the Upper West Region. She later went with her father to live in Techiman. She was raised by her father in Techiman until she got married and moved to Gurumanchayili. Samatha has three children, one girl and two boys.
Samata mentioned that people used to complain about stomach cramps before, but that has minimized now that they have clean water to drink. “I am happy to working as the entrepreneur at the water treatment center. I am happy to be able to provide safe, clean drinking water for my community.”
In addition to running the water treatment center, Samata also picks shea nuts. She then makes into shea butter and sells it in the market.
Despa!! I’m currently sitting in the Saha office on a rainy Monday morning. Most days we’d be out monitoring right now, but the downpour is keeping us inside. We gave it our best shot, heading out at 6:30am only to make it to the other side of Tamale before we were soaked through. It doesn’t help much to put a rain jacket on after the rains begin, and motos don’t offer any rain protection, so back to the office Wahab and I drove! Tomorrow we will try again!
The few weeks since the Global Leadership Program ended have been an adventure. Thus far, I’ve gone monitoring with Eric, Shak, and am now starting to monitor with Wahab. Katie and I are spending a week with each full time staff to really understand how things run around here.
Eric monitors Vogyili, the community I implemented a water business in as a field rep. It was fun to monitor and see how well they were doing, especially considering they now have a solar business too. Eric also monitors five of the nine new water businesses from this summer’s GLP. All five (Kanjeyili, Baayili, Dawunyili, Mahamuyili, and Kpingiyili) are doing well!
A few surprises occurred when Shak and I visited Yakura. The first of which was the small lake that greeted us on the road into the village. We weren’t sure we could make it through on the moto, but a man passing by on a bicycle assured us it wasn’t that deep. However, he was taking a back route that wasn’t moto friendly to avoid the puddle, so we were on our own. I decided to let Shak ride alone, and I would walk though the puddle rather than risk a swim were the moto to tip. Thankfully, the man was right and we made it through without (many) problems, but I am glad I walked!
In Yakura I also saw Mary, one of the women entrepreneurs from my time in Vogyili. We were walking into our first household to monitor and there she was!
I knew that she had moved to another community, but I was so surprised and excited to see her! She’s now helping run the water and solar businesses in Yakura. Mary was equally as surprised to see me, and asked how Victoria, Jacob, and Hailey were (my 2013 GLP teammates). It was a touching reminder of the lasting impact field reps and Saha truly have on each community and its entrepreneurs.
And now, an update on living in Tamale and a shameless plug for our food blog! Katie and I have started an Instagram account – tamaleeats – to document our adventures cooking and eating here in Tamale (even though we have zero experience with food photography). It’s a whole new world learning what goods we can actually cook from the market, and trying to operate our oven. It’s a great day if it only takes one match to light the stove!
Nevertheless, I think we’ve done a splendid job so far: we haven’t eaten plain rice for any meal and we discovered donuts in the market can be a good (albeit not nutritious) lunch substitute when it’s too hot to turn on the stove. Head over to tamaleeats to see homemade falafel, mujadara, chili, and more!
Two leadership programs down and two weeks of monitoring under the belt – wow, life in Tamale is different when there aren’t 60 salamingas running around town. As I settle into this new lifestyle, I am starting to reflect on the differences of being a Field Rep and working as a staff member in Ghana.
As a field rep, my mind was set on the end goal of beginning a water treatment business in Sagbarigu. There were definitely problems along the way, but we were able to find quick and easy solutions to each problem we faced. We left in June 2014 confident that the skill sets we gave the women entrepreneurs were enough to keep the business running.
Now I am back two years later as a full-time staff member. Yes, Sagbarigu’s water treatment business is still running well. But, I have already learned in my short time here that there are many gray areas to the success of these businesses. It’s not just about the incredible team that implemented these businesses. It’s also about the incredible staff members that work hard to monitor in these communities. Every day, we visit 3 communities to check on the center, sales, successes and challenges of the water and solar businesses. I am learning quickly that each business has its unique challenges that I could not have imagined as a field rep. As I sit in the solar center of Chandanyili with Wahab and the 4 women entrepreneurs talking about money management, I can see a concrete difference in the way I solved problems as a field rep and the way I solve problems now.
Instead of wondering, what can be done right now to solve this problem, I ask myself: What is better for the sustainability of this project? Should we use the easy solution to get the center back up and running now? Or talk with the women, encourage them to hold a community meeting, and let us know their final decision on sales? Do we lead these business owners towards the answer we want to hear or do we let them find solutions to their problems that best fit their community? Will their answer end up being the same as ours?
I may not know the answers to all of these questions now, as they are sure to be different with each unique situation, but I have learned so much already from Eric, Wahab, Amin, Peter and Shak. Eda and I continue to be thankful for their patience, willingness to answer any [silly] question, and the constant laughter (usually relating to our most recent marriage proposals). We’re excited to see what this year has in store for us!
We are happy to report that, once again, 80% of our households had clean water in their safe storage containers. We are very excited about this number and look forward to seeing it increase further! This month, there were a number of communities with high water sales. These villages include: Nekpegu, Chihigu, Vogyili, Kagbal, Balomposo, Wambong, Galinkpegu, Kideng, Gidanturu, Futa and Komonaayili. We are especially impressed with Chihigu, Galinkpegu, Futa, and Kombonaayili because they were recently implemented this past winter. Two of our solar communitites, Chandanyili and Wambong, had high solar sales this month. Although they don’t currently have bank accounts, Sagbarigu, Chadanyili, Kpalguni, Gundaa, Namdu I and Namdu II plan on opening bank accounts very soon!
Challenges
Although some communities have received rain, the following communities still have very low dugouts: Djelo, Buhijaa Tindan I, and Chandanyili. When the dugouts fill back up, women entrepreneurs are encouraged to inform their community that their centers are regularly running again. This month, Namdu II, Kuldanali, Manguli II, and Djelo had polytank issued that were fixed by our full time staff. Most polytank issues are leaks from the tap, which can be fixed with new parts or just glue and tape! Additionally, Gundaa’s solar center had a leak in the roof that had to be immediately fixed and Jangbarigiyili experienced loose wires after a storm that were fixed with the help of our full time staff. Sagbarigu informed Wahab that they were not given any spare batteries after implementation of their solar business. Businesses are given 10% extra batteries for their solar centers to use as others are charging. Wahab plans to bring these to the women entrepreneurs as soon as possible.
Sanatu makes sales in Vogyili.
“Sun was scorching, so I brought the polytank under some shade to fix” – Eric in Kpenchila
“Ramatu bought some aquatabs” – Eric monitors NekpeguScooping water to treat for sales in Kpaligini
“Drinking some clean water and feeling refreshed” – from Eric, monitoring
The community of Vogyili reinforces their dugout in the hope that it will hold more water this rainy season (background). In the foreground, kids pose with EricSolar center in Sakpalua , run by Damu (above and below)
“Tindan I water is running very low pray for rain to come” – Wahab in Tindan IArishetu and Dahiyatu, entrepreneurs in Tindan I
Household visit in Tindan I, as Wahab monitors there
“This family said they are happy to have a access to clean water at the community” – Wahab monitors in Naha
“Household monitoring, though this house was my favorite household on this day. I found out that they have six safe storage containers in the house” – Wahab monitors at Galikpegu
A new compound in Galinkepgu. Wahab, who monitors here, gave the family a safe storage container so that they could start purchasing clean water from the treatment center.
“Household vist” – Wahab monitors“I found dugout water in someone’s bucket at Galikpegu” – Saha’s policy is that safe storage containers can only be used for safe drinking water, so if our staff comes across dugout water while monitoring, the family needs to dump it out and wash the container thoroughly if they are interested in continuing to use it for clean water. This is what the long-term challenges of behavior change look like!
“Household visit with a full bucket of clean water”
“This family is being doing good making sure they have enough clean water in the house so that those who come to their house would not drink dugout water by accident” – Wahab monitors Gundaa
Sometimes figuring out the water-proof backing to these lanterns can be tricky!
Amin arrives for sales at Futa
Household visits in Chanaayili – the business here was implemented in Jan 2011 and is still going strong!
“Kpalbusi calling” – a photo from Peter’s monitoring
“Today I met up with Nma Nimpaga at Komlanyili at their dugout. She was happy they now have water at their dugout so they don’t have to move the center back and forth”The team gathers at the Saha office for our weekly Friday meeting!
“Fati putting the batteries on charge” – from Wahab’s monitoring
Chihigu’s new dugout after the rains
Fatima, an entrepreneur in Namdu 2, just had a new baby. Her name is Barikisu! Amarraba!
“This woman is from Chihigu and she is happy having access to clean water at the community” – from Wahab’s monitoring in May
