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Field Rep Voices: Angela, TJ, John and Jose

Posted on June 20, 2016June 20, 2016 by admin

Opening Night…

The car that’s been coming to our village the last few weeks showed up again today, for the first time at nightfall. The 3 salamingas that have been building the solar center jumped out of their wheel machine smelling like water instead of their typical smells of dirt and sweat. They also wore nicer clothing and seemed prepared for some sort of celebration. Little did I know I was in for a surprise…

The three met with Fatima, Fatimata, and Hamshowu; the owners of me and my goat family. During the last two weeks I’ve heard them talking about how excited they are about running what they call a “solar business.” I’m not sure what that is, but they mentioned how they will finally be able to see and do work at night. The group gathered in the structure they built next to those shiny panels aimed at the sun. Shortly after, the rest of the villagers made their way from prayers towards this building each with a gadget in their hand.

P1010546 — Fatima, Fatimata, and Hamshowu

The sun was completely gone and had been for a while now. I was hungry so I decided to do some grazing. And then it happened… I’ll never forget it. The boy Mohamed lifted his gadget and a beautiful white light lit up his face! It was unlike anything I had ever seen! Then there was another light, and another! One-by-one these gadgets lit up the sky. My owners, the villagers, the 3 salamingas, all of them started dancing and laughing. All of the sudden my owner walked towards me, like he was choosing me for some special purpose. He put a rope around me and started bringing me towards all the fun. I must admit I was pretty scared. It’s a great honor to be selected by your master.

Silence fell as he brought me into the center of the group and handed my rope to TJ. “Yo TJ!” He brought our village clean water the last time he was here. He’s a good guy. I thought we might just be hanging out together, but then TJ and one of the salamingas lifted me into the back of their wheel machine.

And so here I am, telling you this story because, well… it’s been the wildest day of my life. My new owners have even given me a name, Minga! I’ve never been in a wheel machine before, let alone one with these three who now smell like sweat and dirt instead of like water. The village is all that I know, I’m not sure if I’ll see it again. I want to remember it. So I’m sharing my story with you now. Why wait? Life is short.

Singing off,
Minga the goat
Adventurer and Narrator
Formerly of the village of Moya

Field Rep Voices: Team Adeel, Amin, Shuoyang & Jhoanny

Posted on June 19, 2016June 19, 2016 by admin

A day in the life of team Amin…
Tuesday June 14

Today we realized we could use more organization and communication in our group. We had a short day yesterday we were suppose to ground and install the panels on the poles but we made the mistake of not picking the things we needed yesterday before going to the village. So today we are doing all this shopping for all the things we need like rubbing alcohol and sales books. We are also picking up the solar panel poles from the welder and we are buying more paint and other things we need. We also picked up our lanterns. This day taught us more than anything that every mistake is a lesson learned rather than a step back in our timeline for opening night. We are definitely on a tighter schedule but at the end we predict success and we have a great feeling of empowering our village which is the most important thing. It’s not about how fast we get there, it’s about the journey!

Tim discusses the solar business with a household

The solar entrepreneurs by the center in Kpanshegu

Field Rep Voices: Team Alberta, Chelsea, Eugenia, Savannah, and Yi

Posted on June 17, 2016June 17, 2016 by admin

Our team arrived late afternoon at 4:00pm in Mahamuyili for the celebration of the opening day of the water treatment center. We headed to the dugout along with the people from the village. The water center had a successful turnout; all 25 households attended opening day (almost at the same time) turning the opening into a lively event. Everyone was very eager to have their turn at the Polytank to fill their containers. The two women elected to run the water business, Fatimah and Hawa, opened the center up for business and quickly got to work taking money and filling containers.

Within moments of getting started a container was about to overflow so one woman caught all of the extra in her container lid and proceeded to chug the entire amount of water. A loud “BURPPP” leaped out from her and the crowd all reacted with laughter and excitement. Three containers in, we started to have some customers who had leaky taps and after this first one it seemed that every container after it also had a leak. Our team arranged an assembly line to adjust any leaky or faulty taps and successfully fixed each and every one.

To celebrate opening day, we brought bubbles and candy to share with the children. It quickly turned chaotic with Savannah and Chelsea nearly being tackled to the ground by a swarm of very excited children (including the men and women of the village). Music filled the air the entire duration, keeping the atmosphere fun and lively with dancing and many tickling attacks. We finished opening day with a sunset walk back to Mahamuyili with music and our two women entrepreneurs.

The team and new entrepreneurs pose at the water center.

Savannah walks back from the dugout and water center after a successful opening day with Mahamuyili community members.

Mahamuyili water treatment center group selfie!

– Savannah, Yi, Chelsea, Eugenia, and Alberta

Field Rep Voices: Team Laura, Jack, Yanshu, Sherifa and Anita

Posted on June 15, 2016 by admin

Yesterday, Team Sherifa returned from Bamvim where we spent the day working with our three entrepreneurs on installing the solar system. This included mounting the two solar panels to custom built metal poles, stringing the wires throughout the center and grounding the entire system with a copper pole and mixture of charcoal, salt and water. Our installation was a great success! We were able to charge Laura’s iPhone (for a fee of 50 peswas.) We discussed and finalized the prices for charging batteries (30 peswas) and cellphones (50 peswas.) Today, we painted the wood on the exterior of the solar center blue, at the request of our entrepreneurs. Anita and Laura went over the process for cleaning the solar panels and how to properly care for the genset.

Yanshu considered the solar panels and his handbook

This included reminding the women to always turn off the system at night, unplug all powerstrips and chargers and being sure to not overload the system with too many chargers. Meanwhile, Jack and Yanshu walked around and began to distribute lanterns to families. Our village consists of 25 households, each with roughly eight members. Every household is receiving a lantern at the cost of one Ghana Cedi. Today, we were able to give out seven lanterns and hope to finish distributing the other 18 tomorrow! We will also review the process of charging and installing the batteries for the lanterns with our entrepreneurs. We are hoping our day will go smoothly, and that we won’t get another flat tire!

Bamvim's new solar entrepreneurs hook up the system! — Bamvim’s new solar entrepreneurs hook up the system!

– Anita, Sherifa, Yanshu, Jack and Laura

Field Rep Voices – Team Arielle, Lexie, Kanaha, Mcrid, and Nestor

Posted on June 14, 2016 by communitywatersolutions

Having been in Ghana for two weeks now, all of the new water and solar businesses are well under way. Generally, all of the field reps seem super excited, willing to learn and adapt, and grateful to be a part of such a rewarding experience. Despite continuous trouble-shooting and two team members falling ill and missing a day in the village, Team Nestor’s water project in the village of Jukuku will open Wednesday, June 15th. We have spent the last week building the water treatment center, training the women in how to use alum and chlorine as well as managing money, and distributing safe storage containers. Teaching the treatment process and the money management is one of the most vital components of the entire implementation process, but also one of the most rewarding as we see the women truly begin to take full ownership of their business.

Our next steps are to finish distribution, educate, and monitor following opening day. As we are near opening day it is incredible to see the whole village rally around the women, whether its them having heard of our work before we meet them or just being super willing to take part because they understand the importance of clean water. Being the largest of the water businesses during this Global Leadership Program session, we have had a load of long and hard days, but we also have had fun and enlightening days. At the end of it, we realize that our work with Saha Global is something we chose not because we thought it would be easy, but because it matters.

Field Rep Voices: Team Diana, Bill, Kelsea, Lucy, and Sita

Posted on June 14, 2016 by admin

Starting a safe drinking water treatment center in Kanjeyili has been a community effort through and through. Kanjeyili’s community elected women entrepreneurs Aisha, Aishatu, Awau and Mayama are eagerly learning and getting involved in every aspect of the center from water treatment to managing the business. They are supported by other community members who help in whatever way they can and enthusiastically take ownership of the benefits of the center for their village. Kanjeyili’s successful treatment center depends on both the entrepreneurs and the community’s support and understanding of the business.

Kanjeyili’s women entrepreneurs quickly took the reins of the treatment process. We demonstrated how to use the alum to clear sediment from the water and they took a hands-on approach to trying the process themselves. By day two of training, they didn’t hesitate to fill the blue drums with dugout water and started treating it with alum right away. Alum treatment is an overnight process and they understand how important it is to the business to have water ready to treat and serve. Again, the community came out to support this process by carrying the heavy drums of water and helping form a six-month supply of alum balls. Having completed the first step of the process, the entrepreneurs moved on to disinfection.

Having successfully cleared the first batch of water with alum, the women entrepreneurs began scooping the water into the Polytank.* The Polytank disinfection step is the last in ensuring all E.Coli is removed from the water and is safe to drink. The community knew their dugout was making them sick, but showing them the results of the lab tests drove home the importance of the safe water center. The women entrepreneur’s primary responsibility is to continue the operation of the treatment center. Although they were apprehensive about charging a small fee for the water, both entrepreneurs and community came to understand the fee ensured the longevity of the safe water center. The women entrepreneurs keep in mind the price of filling a household’s safe storage container must be affordable for the entire village. This way, the entrepreneurs can provide an important service for the community, and in turn, the community drives the profitability and continuity of the business.

Kanjeyili’s safe water treatment center will continue to be successful because the community both needs and supports its service. Their entrepreneurs are highly competent and efficient at both water treatment and management because they dove into all aspects of the process. The community is helping with every step along the way, whether lending a hand to paint or carrying water to treat. This shared sense of ownership puts Kanjeyili on the road to better health and the success of their water treatment center.

*Polytank: Large drum with a tap commonly found in Ghana to store drinking water.

Lucy helps train their entrepreneurs about alum, the first step of the water treatment process.

One of the new entrepreneurs from Kanjeyili fills a blue drum to get ready for alum treatment.

Field Rep Voices: Team Rachael, Davis, Jaleel, Morgan and Vivian

Posted on June 13, 2016 by admin

Attempting to fix a broken down car in the middle of a dirt road miles into the African bush was not the ideal start to the first day traveling to the community that team Jaleel would be working in; but for the team it was not at all surprising. Both before the program and during orientation we were told that whatever can go wrong will and that statement has definitely been true. In our case that would mostly entail car troubles. These troubles have ranged from the random necessary push start to having a fan belt gear literally fall out of the car. These car issues may sound bad but they have helped the team bond and realize how ridiculous some of the situations which have been encountered are. In these situations all we have been able to do is laugh about it and know that what we need to accomplish that day will still get done.

In the case of the car breaking down on the way to visit the community of Warivi for the first time everything turned out for the best and into one of the team’s, Davis, Morgan, Rachael, and Vivian, most memorable life experiences.

Team Jaleel poses on top of Giddipass for their scavenger hunt

We were given the amazing opportunity to meet with the village chief and a few of the elders to explain that we would like to work in their village for the next few weeks to help implement a sustainable solar charging business. The reactions and gratitude that were exhibited by the chief, elders, and community really left a lasting impact on all of the members of the team. The days following the meeting have been amazing, both in seeing how the community functions in daily routines and in how they have rallied together to help implement the solar center.

Davis, Morgan pose with their carpenter!

– Davis, Jaleel, Morgan, Rachael and Vivian

Field Rep Voices – Team Greg, Wivine, Abby, Jen and Dzorsah

Posted on June 12, 2016 by communitywatersolutions

After a long, dusty taxi ride, we finally arrived in Changbuni, eager to establish a relationship with the community we would be working in. When we pulled up, many of the kids were already gathered, and even more came running when they heard news of our arrival. We introduced ourselves to one of the adults, who then, to our surprise, eagerly ran to get the chief from farming.

We (somewhat nervously) entered the chief’s hut, and went through the formal Dagbani greetings. This was the true test of how much we’d learned from Shak’s Dagbani training session a few days prior. We definitely stumbled over a few phrases, but the chief and elders seemed to appreciate our efforts nonetheless. Jen began explaining the Saha mission and the specifics of the clean water business we wanted to start. After the pitch, the chief said something that made us all realize what’s really special about Saha. He said that when we first arrived he thought we might be drilling a borehole or something mechanical, which has the potential to break. He said that he was grateful that this project fit the needs and wants of his community. Earlier, upon entering the village, we noticed a structure and tank for rainwater harvesting put in place by another NGO. When we asked the villagers about it, they said they had used it in the past, but it was currently empty. This made us realize that sometimes a simple approach is best. Rather than trying to replace their dugout with another water source, we hoped to give the community of Changbuni the tools and opportunity to be self-sufficient with the resources that they already have.

After the chief meeting we asked to see the dugout to take a water sample. Even in a taxi, it was a rather long distance. We took our sample and scouted a potential location for the center next to the dugout. Next, we went to see the river that the village uses in the dry season, when their dugout runs dry. We were warned with a chuckle that it was far away, but none of us were prepared for how far away it actually was. After driving the taxi for as far as the path would allow, we still had another thirty minute walk to the river.

Luckily it was a scenic walk

We took our water sample and started the long walk back to the taxi. It was humbling to experience even just a small fraction of the work women do on a daily basis to provide for their families, and frustrating to realize that the outcome of their efforts was still unclean water that made them sick. This experience added perspective and motivation to the work that we would soon be doing.

Samples in tow, we were set to leave Changbuni after a successful first day. First, though, we went to say goodbye to the chief. We told him our plan for the next day and began our goodbyes. Then the chief said something to a younger boy, who then left the hut. To our surprise and bewilderment, he came back carrying a live chicken. The chief wanted to give us the chicken as a token of the community’s gratitude. We were a bit shocked, but grateful, and thanked him for the gift.

We left Changbuni (with the chicken in the trunk with our translator!), satisfied with how our first day went and excited to come back!

Field Rep Voices – Team Sam, Christina, Julia, Beth and Sumaya

Posted on June 12, 2016 by communitywatersolutions

Yesterday, we completed construction of our water business in the village of Sankunpe. Construction involved the heating of screws over a fire started with leftover paint thinner, the chaining of blue drums to discourage theft, and some polytank plumbing work. To prepare the polytank to hold the water, Julia jumped inside the tank with a sponge and shea butter soap from the market and got the job done!

Once construction was finished, we commenced training the women entrepreneurs. We focused on alum training which is the first of the two steps in the purification process. Aluminum sulfate is a flocculent used to separate the sediment from the dugout water. In its usual state, dugout water resembles chocolate milk due to its high turbidity. The women were already familiar alum and took the alum balls from us and confidently stirred them in the blue drums.

This morning we arrived in Sankunpe expecting to find three blue drums of clear dugout water with the sediment settled at the bottom. Much to our surprise, the water was still full of sediment. We did not account for how the turbidity of the water is higher at this time of the year. As the dry season comes to an end, the water levels of the dugout are low causing the high turbidity.

We re-treated the water with our women entrepreneurs, explaining what had gone wrong, and waited another 30 minutes to confirm that the treatment worked. Tomorrow we will transfer the fully-flocculated water to the polytank to be treated with chlorine. Fingers crossed that we will be sipping potable water very soon!

Also, in other news… Sam fell madly in love with a goat named Regina.

Field Rep Voices – Team: Taylor, Audrey, Anna, Micah and Taufik

Posted on June 11, 2016 by communitywatersolutions

Sitting in the middle of Bayili’s humble palace, Team Taufik had agreeably one of the most unique experiences of our lives. It was our meeting with the chief and the elders of the community we were hoping to work with over the next couple weeks. After taking our shoes off, we stepped into his hut and squatted down and began the greetings. The elder we came into contact with first upon our arrival to the village, offered up the 5 cedes we had given out of respect. The chief nodded to us and began speaking in Dagbani. Unaware of exactly what was happening, but eager to be a part of the process, we mimicked the men and our translator by lightly clapping our hands and responding “Naa” to all their well wishes to our lives and our families.

Our team member, Audrey, gave our pitch confidently and eloquently and our translator, Taufik, bridged the language gap. They nodded approval throughout the meeting and were happy to move forward with the water sanitation business implementation. Yay! The next day we got to meet with the entire community and they also loved the idea. We are so excited and thankful for the opportunity to work with our village! Here are some other things that we have been very thankful for throughout our experience…

We are thankful to have an inside look at what an official chief meeting looks like.

We are thankful that our village has welcomed us into their traditions.

We are thankful for Taufik both for his service to this organization and his willingness to teach us the ways of Tamale.

We are thankful for simple solutions and the impact they can have on people’s lives.

We are thankful for our driver, Alhassan, because he not only drives us everywhere but also fixes everything. Literally everything.

We are thankful for the village’s excitement to help us implement this business.

We are thankful for cute kids and their curious, unashamed staring.

We are thankful for laughter because no matter what language you speak, everyone understands it.