A Welcome Note from Saha’s Co-founder & Board Member, Vanessa Green
Last Thursday marked our 5th Annual Benefit in Boston at the W Hotel! It was a great success and we were able to raise just shy of $20,000. The evening would have not been possible without the help of our sponsors Wolf Greenfield (gold sponsor), Dwell Proper (silver sponsor) and Oasys Water. Thank you all for your continued support. Another big thank you all of our attendees and volunteers for coming together for such a memorable evening.
With your help we will be able to continue to expand our impact in Ghana to bring clean drinking water to more people and job opportunities to more women. Your donations truly have a direct impact on so many lives in our partner communities and we are so grateful for your support.
What better way to recap the evening with some pictures? (See below). You can view more from our awesome photobooth here.
If you were unable to make the evening but are still looking to show your support please donate here. You can even set up monthly recurring donations so you can support our villages in Ghana throughout the year!
RafflePhoto BoothThank you to all of our silent auction donors!
Benefit Volunteer Mike Kearney gets his raffle tickets in!
And now, we hand it over to the Field Reps! In the next series of blog posts, water and solar teams will discuss their work from their perspective. Take it away Team Wahab….
Day 1 In Yepala
Ti Puhiriyah, we are so happy to greet you!!! We five will be working together on this Solar Electricity project in Tamale, Ghana (third largest city in Ghana) for the rural village community of Yepala in East Gonja District in the Northern Region of Ghana. We are staying in GILLBT Hostel near Tamale and our drive from campus to Yepala is about 30 minutes with smooth roads. We take turns sleeping in the trunk. “OH NO, no one gets to have the trunk everyday,” half-jokes Kristen. Our next teammate is Tomas, or Kobe for his cool friends, who is the taxi driver, in the smooth station wagon.
The mornings are cool and cloudy, we wake early in the day before 06:00 AM breakfast and leave for Yepala at 06:30 AM. The first day we went to Yepala was 7 June 2016, the drive there we saw wide open fields with plenty of lush green vegetation and red brown dirt on the roads and the sides. As we pull into Yepala, a man is chilling on a bench in a black traditional shirt with white traditional religious hat, greeting us with good morning in Dagbani, Desibah with we returned with: well, Nnaa. We got out of the taxi and Wahab told the man who we are, Saha Global Field Representatives who are looking for the Chief, Na. We want to schedule meeting with Na. We learned that this man in black shirt was the Chairman of the Yepala Community, literally right-hand man of the Na. He says that Na has gone to the farm to handle some business. We will schedule meeting with Council of Elders, because anything that they decide, Na will go agree with because they work together and he is one part of many. We go to speak with the Elders about wuntan buhum (solar electricity) and they say Thank you, we were not expecting you or this opportunity today, and of course they want to add wantan buhum to their community because it is a good thing. We ask them if they use any electricity at night, and they say that a few people have some small lanterns that they use disposable, lead-acid batteries in —Tigerwatt and Sun, locally retailed Chinese brands.
When we met the Elders they were standing around a young goat, who was suspended in the grip of two men, upside down. A veterinarian was standing, administering some white liquid in a syringe to his mouth, then a different brown syringe to his butt, then checked his vitals and let him go on his way. The vet was dressed in more Western-type clothes, so we knew that he and his assistant were from outside of the community.
We returned to the spot where we left Kobe at the taxi where we met the Chairman, with the Elders this time. We shared some Cola Nuts, for a ritual sign of respect in the tradition. Each person is to take a small bite to seal the deal, sign the ending.The ColaNut tasted a bit bitter and the taste stayed in my mouth for about 20 minutes throughout the ride home. They did not take the Cola immediately because of respect to Ramadan, Islamic month of fasting for Allah has just started, yet they expressed much gratitude at our coming and sharing. We agreed to meet at the same time tomorrow, around 7AM.
Team Wahab meets with elders from the community of Yepala to discuss a solar charging center!
Akwaaba from Tamale! We are excited to have all of our Field Reps here for orientation before heading out to their own villages. The first few days have been spent learning Ghana history, Dagbani training (the predominant language spoken in the area around Tamale), and Saha’s approach to both the water treatment and solar electricity processes. Teams and translators were announced on the first day and their first activity together was spent running around town on a scavenger hunt. Congratulations to Team Simply for getting the most points!
Next, our teams spent the morning at a village that was previously implemented in for water or solar. It was a great opportunity to see how the businesses run and the challenges and successes that different communities face throughout operation. In Wovugu, our Field Reps learned that the women entrepreneurs had issues getting people to buy water for a short period of time. They were able to solve the problem with the elders of the village to educate people about the need to always drink clean and safe drinking water! Everyone had a great time asking the women questions and playing with the kids!
If you don’t already, be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@sahaglobal) to check out pictures of the Field Reps in action. More to come soon!
My name is Sean Dikdan, and I participated in a Saha Water Project in Winter 2016. I was born and raised in Saddle Brook, NJ. I graduated Boston College in 2012 with a major in Biology and a minor in Sociology. I am enrolled as a dual MD/MPH student at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Rutgers School of Public Health. Right now, I am finishing up my Fieldwork on Community Health Needs Assessments and preparing for my fourth and final year of medical school. I will be applying for residencies in the New York area in Internal Medicine this fall.
Saha Global stood out to me as an organization that took simple, proven solutions and applied them to complex problems. Their community businesses are elegant and effective, and their creative approach is what initially drew me in. In Ghana, I really enjoyed implementing the business and exploring my village of Komonaayili. Speaking with the community members, I heard stories about waterborne disease such as cholera, which up until that point was something I had only ever heard about in lectures and textbooks. Knowing this gave me an added sense of pride in our work there. Practical, clean water for them meant liberation from diseases that had truly harmed the community.
I also loved my time with Saha because the program attracts a diverse group of field reps from all backgrounds and disciplines. Working and learning with these people was a highlight of my trip. Some of my favorite moments were staying up late with everyone on our porches talking, playing the ukulele, discussing the work we were doing, and just really engaging each other. I am looking forward to staying connected with this talented group for a long time.
As I look forward, I want to continue my work with international health, and my experience with Saha will be a springboard for me to begin this. Adequate healthcare is lacking all over the world, and as a clinician and public health student, I want to play a part in resolving this.
Please feel free to email me at [email protected]! I would love the opportunity to talk to anyone about Saha Global. You can also keep up with me here.
This June, we are hosting our 5th Annual Benefit to raise funds for our cause, celebrate our successes and to thank our supporters that have helped us along the way. Join us for an evening of cocktails, light appetizers, auction and live music!
Early Bird Tickets are available until Monday, May 2nd
The Saha Global Advisory Board consists of some of our top Field Rep alumni. After participating in the Global Leadership Program and implementing a Saha business from the ground up, these people really know what we are all about! We truly value their input and feedback. We know that they have the skills, experience and passion that we need to continue to drive our growth and expansion!
The main focus of our board over this next year will be fundraising and Field Rep alumni engagement. We are excited to have their input and ideas!
Our 2016 Advisory Board Members:
Brianan Kiernan
DeLaine Mayer
Kayleah Griffen
Sean Dikdan
Signe Lindquist
Bryant Foreman
Jeremy Lakin
Lilly Prince
Stacey Cussen
Over the next few weeks we will be posting bios about each of the members so you can get to know them a little better, stay posted!
Week 4:
Jarayili, chongashe, libi, gbung, kushini, kpalbusi, gidanturu, chanaayili, original and indigenous kabache, kideng, tunga, laligu, kpalyn, yepalsi, jangbarigiyili, zanzugu, zanzugu yapala, changyili, balamposo, tijo, tindan I, kpalguni I, chandanyili, jagberin, sagbragu, gondaa, namdu I, namdu II, warvi, kpalga, chihigu, galinkpegu, naha, cheshagu, futa, kpalguni II, wovugumani, wovugu, manguli II, janakpen, gbruma, takpili, chani, cheko, kpanshegu, komlanyili, yepala, bamvim, Kpenchila, kulaa, komonaayili, moya, kudula, voghyili, djelo, manguli I, kuldanali, bogu, tindan II, nekpegu, kalinka, tohinayili, gurumanchayili, gbandu.
The new water villages implemented during the Winter Global Leadership Program were shared among the staff to monitor. Wahab monitors Naha, Galinkpegu and Chihigu. Amin monitors Futa and Kpalguni. Eric monitors Komonaayili and Shak took over monitoring Kagbal.
Success Stories
February marks the second month in a row with over 80% usage in our water villages! Given that our average usage rate over the past 7 years has been closer to 70-75%, it’s exciting to see this upward trend. The monitoring team and our field reps have done a great job focusing on water and health education, not just business logistics, which really helps with long-term behavior change. We are proud of this progress! The following villages had 6/6 household visits at a point in the month (meaning that all of the households that we stopped into see that day had clean water in their safe storage containers): kushini, kpalyn, warvi, galinkpegu, chihigu, naha, yepala ,futa,k.kpalguni, djelo, nekpegu, and komonaayili. And, since they always say a picture is worth a thousand words, here are some pictures from monitoring our water villages this month!
On the solar front, we’ve had a couple of great successes this month. The entrepreneurs in Kpenchila were able to open a savings account with Bonzali rural bank! We are so proud of these ladies! The lighting wasn’t great, but we were able to capture a few photos from this day.
During February, the Sakpalua entrepreneurs bought 40 AA size rechargeable batteries to replace worn-out batteries. After months of talking about this with them, we were thrilled that the ladies committed to re-investing in their business. Also, the entrepreneurs from Namdu I, Namdu II and Voghyili told us that they plan to open savings accounts soon.
Challenges
It’s that time of year when we start to see dugout drying out in some of our communities. In February, the dugouts in bamvim, manguli II, futa, chihigu, futa, zanzugu, zanzugu yepala, galinzegu, gbruma, voghyili, buhijaa, balomposo, kpaliga, chesagu, yakura, kpachiyili and jangbarigiyili all dried up and water sales have stalled until it rains and there is water treat. Bamvim and voghyili both had very high sales before their dugouts ran out. The women in Dundo have also temporarily paused water sales because people have started to go down the road to the University of Development Studies where they can get tap water for free. We are unsure if this water will continue to be available to for free in the long-term, so they entrepreneurs in Dundo are being patient and will start up sales again if the USD pipe is no longer an option. In Jabayili, the women are still experiencing problems related to their stolen blue drum. Although they still have two of their blue drums, the women complain it’s now difficult to treat water. We are working with the village leadership to find a solution to this problem. In Kasulyili the project that pumps water from the dugout to the community is still running and many people still have the misconception that the water from this pump is treated (it’s not). Our team is planning an education campaign to address this problem. Finally, sales at the water business in Nymaliga were slow one week because the chief passed away and everyone is busy arranging for the funeral. Other smaller problems included a leaky polytank in Moya that was easily fixed.
Villages with problems at their solar centres are wambong, yapalasi, chani and Nekpegu. In Wambong, the main battery at the solar center seems to have a problem. The women can manage the issue by having small repairs done, but eventually will need to replace it. In Yepalsi, the inverter has broken down. However, as we mentioned a few months ago, this village now has electricity from the city and the solar center is just used during “lights out.” So it has not been a huge problem. Finally, both Chani and Nekpegu complain of their lamp batteries not lasting long after charge. This is expected as both centers have been open for over two years. Like Sakpalua, the entrepreneurs will have to replace the AA batteries soon.
Today we are going to hear from Shak, Saha’s Director of Ghana Operations. Shak has worked for Saha since 2009, is our resident solar expert, and manages our team in Tamale. He is an huge asset to the Saha team and one of the most popular guys in Tamale! This is his first-ever blog post. I’ll let Shak take it from here:
Every Monday, I meet everyone at the office by 6:30am to check in about how the week is to start and where each person is heading out to monitor. After checking in with everyone, I give them each a day of fuel money so they can head out to the field. At the end of each day, everyone checks in with me at 2:30pm about how the day went and challenges encountered in the communities that day. Some examples of challenges would be if there was a broken polytank. If this happens, then they can take the supplies needed for the women to repair it the next day.
After my morning check ins, I leave to monitor communities myself. The first thing I do when I am out to monitor is visit the business centers to see the status of the center. Then, I go talk to the entrepreneurs. The first thing I ask them (after sending my greetings to them) is “how is the water business center doing?” I make sure to ask how many blue drums were treated this week and how many aquatabs they used. I then ask about the challenges or successes of the week, before heading out to my first compound visit.
The same thing applies to the solar centers. I make sure that I ask how many cell phones the entrepreneurs charged in the past week and count the number of cell phones and batteries plugged in when I arrive. I also ask how often the panels have been cleaned and how sales are going for the the week. Finally, I ask how much money they made in the past week.
On Fridays we have our general staff meeting day. During this meeting we discuss all problems encountered for the week and how to solve them.
My responsibilities as the Director of Ghana Operations are:
-To provide advice and support for teammates
-Support teammates, answer basic questions, and act as a funnel for communications with the US staff
-Create clean and organized expense reports
-Write blog posts for Saha Global
-Oversee all monitoring and operations
-Make sure all activities are are getting accomplished in a timely manner
-Order supplies in preparation for the Global Leadership Program
My favorite part of my job is providing cleaning water and solar power to people in need. The difficult part of my job is if there is bad communication in the team. That is stressful!
December was a great month for both our water and solar businesses. Despite some challenges (see below), our usage rate for the water business was higher than our usual average, with 85% of people drinking clean water! Our team really focused on education this month as the rains have totally stopped and people have no other option, other than the water treatment centers, for safe drinking water. Their hard work paid off!
The solar businesses were also thriving with high sales and exciting purchases made by many of our entrepreneurs. Read on for photos and more info!
This is the first monitoring post written by Saha Manager Eric Angkosaala and Senior Manager Wahab Lawal. I’ll let them take it from here:
Kids in Tunga! Tunga was the first community that we worked in when we expanded to Salaga in December 2012. These kiddos have had access to clean water for 3 years now!
Success Stories
The Kpanshegu water business made a lot of they had made a lot of sales this month. The ladies made a total of 70cedis and are planning to buy crops to store and later sell.The following villages had high sales and had 6/6 household visits at some point during the month (meaning every house visited had clean water in their safe storage container at the time of the visit): komlanyili, yepela, tunga, kideng, indigenous kabache, nekpegu, tohinayili, kagbal, warvi, sagbragu, namdu I, yakura, balomposo, jangbarigiyili, and changyili.The overall percent usage rate for the month was 83%, which is above our typical average of 75% Go water villages!
We also had some successes with our solar businesses this month. The Voghyili solar center had high sales because people were coming from Djelo to charge their phones and batteries. This is a success for Voghyili but a challenge for Djelo (see below). The ladies in Voghyili also bought phone chargers for the center. The entrepreneurs in sakpalua bought some crops so they sell later when prices increase.
The solar center in Kpenchila during one of our December monitoring visits.
Challenges
The water businesses that had challenges during that month were jarigu, kpalbusi, kudula, jagberin, jarayili. All had very low or sometimes no sales. To address this issues, our team emphasized that the entreprenuers shoulld try to make announcements when their business is open and to go round households anytime they treat water. Nyamalga, kasulyili and jabayili have closed centres at the moment, but we are working with the entrepreneurs to get them back up and running. In nyamalga, the stream that they use for their source of water in the rainy season has run dry and they need to move the center back to the dugout to resume business. Moving seems to be taking a long time, but we are hopeful that they ladies will get it set up by the dugout soon. The reason for the delay is that the Chief of nyamalga recently passed away dead so the village is busy arranging for the funeral. As we mentioned in previous posts, kasulyili now has a project that pumps dugout water to the village. Although this water is not treated, the community thinks that the water is safe because it is coming from a pipe. Wahab held a village meeting with chief and elders and women but there is still no change in behavior yet. We plan to do continued education in kasulyili over the next couple of months to help people realize that the water is not treated and unsafe for drinking. As we mentioned last month, J two blue drums stolen were stolen from Jabayili, which has stalled sales. The community is working on buying new blue drums. Additionally, yapie yepela now has running taps and so the women have not been treating water. We don;t really view this as a challenge because all of the water test came out clean from this tap! Go Yapie. We are keeping the water center in this village for now until the community can be sure there there will be consistent water access at the tap.
Villages that had solar challenges were yepalsi and djelo. Both had broken inverters and our technician from Burro had a major delay in helping the women fix them. In Sakpalua, chani and nekpegu people have noticed that their lamp batteries don’t last long after charge. This is something that we anticipated since the batteries only last 500 charges before needing to be replaced. The entreprenuers at these villages are working on buying new batteries to replace the older ones. Addtionally, voghyili had four broken battery chargers. These were still under warranty, so Burro replaced them.
Click here for more detailed, week by week monitoring reports for December.
Mariama was born in Yogh, where she later got married. She and her husband moved and have since settled in Kadula. She has given birth to five kids, two girls three boys– including a set of twins. She cooks and sells food aside working as a water entrepreneur. She also farms rice and groundnuts.
The water treatment center in Kadula was implemented back in June of 2011 by Summer Field Reps Nadiah, Christina, Matt and Karina and, five years later, still provides the community of about 960 people a source of clean drinking water. Mariama says, “I was happy when the elders of the community chose me among the women to run the water business. Since the water treatment center was implemented we have seen improvements in our health and the kids no longer complain of stomach aches. I am grateful to Saha Global.”
