Team Nestor is having an amazing time working with Saha Global! The past couple days have been so rewarding for everyone involved in this mission to bring clean water to our village of Naha. Yesterday we had our community meeting with the village of 45 households. After we explained the entire Saha process, the village told us how appreciative they were for our effort to bring them safe water and we said we were so excited to begin working with them. We had our taxi loaded up with a Polytank stand and two big blue drums- a funny sight to see driving through town and down a dirt road to our village.
Taxis loaded down with supplies
After we unloaded our supplies, we played a game of soccer with some of the many children of Naha. It was us and Nestor vs. the kids. Needless to say, the kids were much better than us and Nestor carried the whole team. Soon after, we too Nestor out to a surprise lunch of TZ because its his favorite dish and he’s the best translator (in our opinion). We headed back to the office to check on our lab results of the dugout water that they drink, untreated. We found some of the worst results that have been seen in a while. Our 3M test was covered in blue dots, which indicate E. Coli. It was a sad sight, but the good news is today we started training Aranhanatu and Madamu how to clean the water.
3M Tests from this winter’s water sources – Naha’s test is the bottom right
We started by cleaning the inside and outside of the Polytank and 3 blue drums. The Polytank is so big that Nicole had to go inside of it to clean it. Nestor and Cayla may have rolled it around a little to scare her… it was all the kids’ idea! All of us helped collect water to fill the blue drums, and yes carrying things on your head is as hard as it looks. After we finished alum training, we headed back to the Saha office, blasting “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and teaching Nestor the words. Tomorrow, we hope to finish the training process and start distributing safe storage containers! We can’t wait for our opening day on Sunday!
Team Amin discusses a day of monitoring in Kpanshegu, a community whose business has been running 1 year now.
Before meeting the Chief of Kpanshegu and monitoring his village, we met his wife the queen mother. I barely had time to get to a full “Despa” before she hugged me at my waist, spun me 180 degrees around and plopped me on her bed to sit. Stacy got the same welcome. We didn’t mind any of it because it was completely out of her own excitement and kindness.
Through our translator, Amin, we learned that she was so happy to see a team from Saha after the organization had implemented a clean water village in their area a year prior. Saskia and Jamila are still running it today. The queen explained their previous situation in which they would moto to town when they could, often hitting traffic along the way.
It’s problems like these – the reliability of transportation and proximity among other factors – that prevent villages all over Ghana from accessing safe drinking water.
While we walked through the town asking about households’ kom yurum bambala, or safe storage containers (SSC),people asked Amin about the previous field reps who helped establish the business. Through our conversations we learned some people used their clean water for cleaning and some used it for tea. Others had issues with their storage containers, for instance, leaky faucets that required Amin to wrench a new one into place.
Despite some snags in monitoring, like, our first household’s dusty SSC,which presumably hadn’t been refilled in a number of days, and another SSC’s water containing dirt, we ended on a celebratory note.
For instance, the Mahamaru household kept polytank water in their SSC. It was clear and reflected the sunlight. If you’re familiar with Pulp Fiction, the feeling of seeing that clean water after other contaminated SSCs is similar to the briefcase scene.
Additionally, Chief A. A. Abudu who also happens to be the president of the Northern Region High Chiefs tried to get us drunk. If the chief says it’s not alcoholic, but it clearly looks, smells, and tastes like strawberry liqueur, it’s probably alcoholic. Additionally he offered us beer to which we declined. The chief was supportive of Saha and happy to shoot the breeze with Jason, Stacy, Amin, and I on among other things his time spent in Germany, the weather in Virginia, what and where Illinois is, and his phone number.
Team Amin with the Chief of Kpenshegu
Just based on a visit with six or seven households and the local government it was apparent that Saha has a positive reputation within this community and is an important partner. We were able to meet our own community and we can tell already it’s going to be another successful partnership.
Translator Amin gets excited about the work in Kpalguni – the newest Saha community!
We safely arrived in Tamale early last week after a long 12-hour bus ride that turned into a 24-hour ride when our bus broke down near Kumasi. After a couple of orientation days learning more about solar energy and the Ghanaian culture we were ready to take to the field to see it first hand. We got to experience our first community in a place that already had solar power that Saha Global implemented in order to ask questions and see how it was being run. After this we were able to go out and monitor other communities as well. It was great to see how the solar centers had such a positive impact on all of the communities.
It was a very exciting day when we found out our teams and communities in which we would be working for the next two weeks. Our team has had a great time together and it is so much fun getting to know everyone better considering we all come from such different places, and have different personalities. Our team consist of Haley, Emily, Trey, and Bridget along with our translator, Shak.
Another really exciting thing for us is how awesome our village, Kushini, is. We had a meeting with the chief to pitch our idea of building a solar center. He was so excited about it and they couldn’t wait to help us start with the construction. The next day when we went back, instead of doing the traditional route of building an entirely new building, the village donated a building to us that was not being used anymore. So instead of taking time to build a new one we are using the time and resources to fix up the great building they already have.
Even though this isn’t the stereotypical procedure for building a solar center we are so happy that we are able to use this building in the community. We will be painting the building in the next couple of days and then will start training the women on the solar equipment.
Akwaaba from Pink Hostel! We are excited that the Winter Global Leadership Program is officially underway! Field Reps have been arriving all day and after numerous trips to and from the airport, 39 Field Reps are safely checked in and have just finished chowing down on their first Ghanaian meal – vegetable fried rice, chicken and a special green-pepper sauce. Tomorrow we’ve got an early (4am!) wake-up call, then it’s an all-day bus to the capital of the Northern Region (and orientation home-base), Tamale.
Three Field Reps, Jessica, Phoebe and Paige-Ashley, are still in transit, but our Assistant Program Manager Amin will make sure they get up North and oriented over the next 2 days.
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!
From left to right- Shak, Eda, Hailey, Victoria & Jacob, Eda’s team members during her time on the Global Leadership Program in the Summer of 2013.
First up, Eda Reed. Take it away…
Ghana, it’s been too long – but I’m coming back! Nicaragua, same goes for you! This June will be three years since my time as a field rep in the village of Vogyili, and I am more than excited to get back to Ghana and explore Nicaragua as the new Operations Coordinator!
In May, I’ll graduate from Colby College with a bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science, with a concentration in the environment and human health. I’m passionate about the health of humans, wildlife, and the environment, and how they interact (aka One Health). I believe that we need to focus on all three of these stakeholders in order to make improved global health a reality, and that’s why I love Saha Global’s model! The clean water and solar energy businesses focus on solutions to improving human health that are local, sustainable, and ultimately beneficial for more than just the immediate village impacted. My time in Ghana was the “aha” moment that sparked my passion, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to go back!
Eda with Vogyili’s water entrepreneurs Mary and Fusiena
I think there’s great potential for Saha’s expansion to Nicaragua, and I can’t wait to find Saha’s niche. I spent a few weeks near Managua in the west of Nicaragua in 2014 teaching environmental science and implementing environmental health projects. Everyone I worked with there were as welcoming and friendly as Fuseina and Mary from Vogyili, the two women managing the clean water business I helped set up. I’m convinced the northeastern region of Nicaragua will be no different! It will be challenging to find what pieces of the Saha model work or don’t work in a new country, but I’m confident Katie and I have what it takes! I can’t wait until we begin our new adventures in Ghana and Nicaragua.
-Eda
And now we will hear from Katie Spruill. (And yes we know this makes a Kate, Kathryn and now a Katie on the Saha Team). Katie will be helping us lead this Winter’s Program as well! Without further ado…
I am excited to be Saha’s Programming Coordinator beginning in June 2016! Since
Katie & Mariam
participating in the Leadership Program in May of 2014, I have wanted to be a part of the Saha team. I graduate from Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!!) in May of 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Systems Engineering and a Green Engineering minor. I have always been interested in international development and from the moment I learned about Saha Global’s leadership program, I knew I needed to apply.
Ana, Katie, Nestor, Alex, and Nicole (From left to right) on their final day in Sagbarigu.
In my first few days in Ghana, as a Field Rep, I experienced a roller coaster of emotions. I was very excited to be involved in helping so many people. At the same time, however, it was heart breaking to see these beautiful kids drinking contaminated water. Working with the women entrepreneurs, to build the water treatment center, was an incredible experience. We didn’t speak the same language, but I could immediately sense their enthusiasm for the project and their sense of community during our many meetings with the village. I will always remember Sanatu, one of the women entrepreneurs, grabbing my hands on our last day and asking me to never forget her. Forgetting her was never an option, she had made a bigger impact on my life than I could ever have made on her life.
Needless to say, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to serve as Saha’s programming coordinator. I am ecstatic to get back to Ghana and I cannot wait to start our work in Nicaragua!
When I posted our scouting trip recap a few months ago, we were still keeping our expansion country a secret. Now that we have let the cat out of the bag, I wanted to write a follow-up blog post to share more information about our time in Nicaragua.
After spending a week in Peru, Kate and I headed to Nicaragua. We arrived in Managua and took a small 8 passenger plane to the Northeast coast to a town called Puerto Cabezas, or as the locals called it “Port.” After months of research, we had pinpointed Port as a potential headquarter city for Saha to operate from and were excited to finally check it out. Althoug we had met and talked to many different people working in Nicaragua on the phone, bwe hadn’t set much of plan for our trip beyond just getting to Port. The goal of our visit was to get to as many rural communities as possible, but we had yet to figured out which ones, how we were going to get there and who was going to translate for us.
Earl & Kate
Strangely a week before we left for out scouting trip Kate re-connected with an old friend named Earl. Earl is a pastor who was born and raised in Nicaragua and currently runs an orphanage in Puerto Cabezas. Kate had visited this orphanage numerous times during her undergraduate work with the Nicaraguan Orphan Fun and Engineering Students Without Borders at the University of Virginia, but it had been 10 years since she and Earl had connected. Earl opened his guesthouse up to us and was extremely helpful as we made contacts in Port to help with our endeavor. He set us up with two translators, a driver and set up a meeting with his co-worker, Dustin, who has lead many medical mission trips in and around the area.
Our translators were actually two 18 year old boys from the orphanage. They spoke excellent English were excited to be involved.
Within just a few hours of arriving in Nicaragua we had a set plan for our next few days. We packed up early the next morning and were off on a bumpy four-hour journey to Waspam. Over the next two days we traveled to 8 communities along the Rio Coco where we met with community leaders and performed household surveys to get a sense of their water and electricity access. Our initial feeling was that despite cultural differences, the set-up and dynamic in the communities that we visited were very similar to our partner communities in Ghana. Additionally, people were collecting their drinking water from surface water sources and using kerosene lamps to light their homes at night.
We left Nicaragua feeling confident that Saha could have a significant impact on the rural communities that we visited and believe there is a great opportunity for long-term work in the area. We are extremely excited to explore the area further to get a better grasp on what working there would entail. There is still a lot of research to be done– getting a better idea of the community dynamic, setting up our headquarter operations, finding local partners, plotting potential partner communities and finding local water and solar technologies are just a few of the many things left to find out.
On the left, Katie Spruill, and the right, Eda Reed
Which leads perfectly into the introduction of our two newest Saha Team members who will help make that all happen: Eda Reed and Katie Spruill. We know these two ladies have the skills, pluck and go get ’em attitude that we need on our team for our expansion to Nicaragua. In June Eda & Katie will travel to Ghana. They will help lead our Summer Global Leadership Program and then stay an additional month to learn the ins and outs of our in country Ghana operations from the pros themselves, Peter, Shak, Amin, Wahab and Eric. We see this training process extremely crucial. We pride ourselves on our 100% sustainability track record. We believe that spending time with out Ghana team will help not only Katie & Eda to get a better understanding of our work in Ghana, but will also help them understand what will need to happen in Nicaragua.
Tomorrow I will hand over the blog to Katie & Eda. Welcome to the Saha Team ladies! Let’s do this Nicaragua!
October was a very successful month for our water businesses. After low sales throughout the rainy season, with usage rates dropping below 70% in September, we saw a huge improvement in October. The rains have slowed with the arrival of the dry season so families are no longer “holding out the next rain” and are frequenting the water businesses again. The average usage-rate was back up to 76% and was as high as 85% in the last week in October!
Things at the solar businesses have also been going well. The women from Tacpuli used some of their profits to buy shea nuts to sell in the dry season. In Djelo, the women entrepreneurs have saved 300 Ghs in the bank. They have used some of their money to buy battery chargers to keep at the business and plan to buy maize and rice soon which they will sell later in the year.
Wahab checking in with Fatima at the water business in Namdu I
A pregnant woman in Sagbarigu tells Wahab “I am so happy that my new baby will have access to clean water”Household visits in KpachiyiliHappy kids in Kpachiyili goofing off with Wahab after a household visitWahab checking in with Fusheina in Namdu IIRahina in Yapalsi checking on a lanternfetching clean water in Yapalsi
Ayi from Yakura recording salesA busy day of sales in Wambong!
Happy customer in Indigenous Kabache
Challenges
Of course, October also had its fair share of challenges. In Djelo, the genset broke and was out of commission for about three weeks while our partners at Burro worked on it. Luckily, the village down the road, Vohyili, also has a Saha solar business so people were able to go there to charge their phones and batteries. I don’t think the Vohyili entrepreneurs were complaining! Some other solar communities, specifically Chani, Kurugu Vohayili, and Sakpalua have been noticing that the charge in their AA batteries is not lasting as long as it it used to. Sometimes, this can be fixed by cleaning the batteries with running alcohol, but for some of our older villages, this means that they are going to need to replace some of their batteries with new ones. Each battery has a lifetime of about 500 charges. After that, they will need to be replaced. Although we talk about this during implementation, many of our entrepreneurs were not expecting to replace their batteries this soon and were disappointed. Luckily, the solar ladies have a lot of money saved up and will be able to afford to replace their batteries.
The main challenge for our water businesses this month revolved around moving the centers. In many villages, the entrepreneurs set up their water businesses in different locations depending on the season. Now that the rains of stopped, the entrepreneurs need to move their water centers back to the dugouts so they have water to treat. Right now, the ladies in Kpalibusi, Jerigu, Yipela, Gundaa, and Chandanyili all need to move their centers and start treating dugout water. We hope for this to happen in the next couple of weeks. The only other problems are missing blue drums in Tunga and Jabayili, but they still have enough blue drums to treat water.
For detailed, week by week monitoring reports from October, click here.
Lachiya was born in Kpalbe. She grew up there until her teens when she went to live with her aunt in Takpuli. She later got married in Takpuli and has given birth to four kids: three girls and a boy. Before joining Saha Global, she farmed rice and groundnuts. She still farms alongside running the water and solar businesses. She also sells firewood.
Lachiya is happy that Saha has been able to provide Takpuli with clean drinking and then later with solar electricity. Lachiya says, “Now whenever there’s an occasion, like a funeral or wedding, and people come from different villages, there is clean safe water to drink and lights at night too. I am proud to be a part of the Saha Team!”
My name is Bryant Foreman. I am 26 years old and am currently working as a scientist in the field of agricultural, zoonotic infectious diseases. While I was finishing my Master of Science degree at Georgetown University, the concept of effective public health implementation and planning was a frequent topic of discussion during a number of my graduate-level courses. I opted to stay in my comfort zone and kept the majority of my research interests rooted in the areas of molecular biology and biosurveillance. However, in February I decided to step out of that comfort zone. I applied to the 2013 Summer Program offered by Saha Global. Several months later, I was on my way to Ghana to implement a community based water treatment center in a village in the Northern Region called Cheshegu.
Bryant with some kids from Cheshegu and Saha’s District Manager, Wahab, on opening day of their water treatment center.
The Saha Global Leadership Program granted me the opportunity to interact first-hand with individuals who have been burdened with various diseases for years. Throughout the course of my education, I have studied a number of diseases within the capacity of a laboratory, but until Saha Global allowed me the opportunity to do so, I had never physically seen the hardships that these illnesses had on individuals. Since then, I look at my work a bit differently. I used to view the microorganisms with which I work solely through the scope of the environment. My experiences in Ghana allowed me to apply a lens of humanity that allows me to remember why I do what I do: to help keep others (humans and animals) healthy and safe.
As far as overall experiences are concerned, this trip would have to be my absolute favorite thus far. One memory that stands out in particular would probably have to be the very first day in Accra. I was trying to function on 3 hours of horrendously light sleep when my fellow field representatives Lucas, Jacob, Bryan, convinced me to explore the coastal city with them after breakfast. I was initially reluctant to join the impromptu excursion; however, after hours of walking in the city I had experienced more than I could have ever hoped for during my first day in Africa. After befriending some locals who gave us a tour of the Nkrumah memorial, treated us to lunch on the cliffs of the Gulf of Guinea, gave us a tour of the coastal slums, and welcomed us with a traditional drum ceremony at their shop, I could certainly say that I had my first “welcome to Ghana” experience.
Once we were in the Northern Region working in our respective villages, I saw that this opportunity presented an atmosphere in which I felt I could thrive and make a difference. Additionally, this program has been developed to cater to a number of educational interests and disciplines. From aspiring civil engineers to International Relations majors, I saw individuals utilizing skills from different disciplines and putting them together toward one common goal.
I have encouraged a number of people who expressed any interest in my experience to look into Saha Global for themselves. After all, interacting and learning more from a fellow Alum is how I was led to the program myself. Additionally, I stay in touch with a few of the Saha’s District Managers. I was teamed up with Wahab and when heavy rains hit our village last winter, he kept me up-to-date on how the entrepreneurs were taking care of things and mitigating the situation.
Although my career has taken me in a different direction, I continue to support the mission of Saha Global as a member of the Advisory Board. Led by our chair of the Board, Samantha Reilley, our Field-Rep alumni continue to drive the growth and expansion of Saha by meeting on a quarterly basis to discuss Saha-related tasks and doing research for the expansion of this model. As a member of the Board, I was most recently involved in the Saha Challenge – a competition among Field-Rep alumni to propose an entirely new country for the expansion of Saha Global. After a series of presentations and a visit to Boston to pitch our final idea, former Field-Rep Lucas Hilsbos and I had proposed Nicaragua to which Saha would launch their next group of social enterprises for clean water and electricity. I am looking forward to being a part of the pilot program in Nicaragua and I am extremely grateful to be involved in this process of expansion into a new region of the world. I believe Saha Global will have the similar impact on communities in Central America when compared to those in West Africa – and I am excited to continue being a part of this expansion process.
Want to learn more about Bryant’s experience or have any specific questions? Feel free to email him at [email protected] You can also learn more about him and check in to see what he is up to now here!
The Saha Ghana team after their weekly team meeting!
September was a successful month for many of our solar entrepreneurs! The business owners in Kpenchila opened a bank account for their solar center and deposited 300 GHS, all money that that they had earned since opening night in June! The solar ladies in Yakura also had an awesome month. They have saved 280 Cedis, and are planning to open their bank account in October or November. Each of the women also decided to use 60 cedis of their profit to re-invest in their groundnut farms. Shak, who monitors Yakura, was so excited to hear that the ladies had made enough money to support their family farm. They also recently told Shak that they want to start selling phone credit at the solar business as a way to earn extra income. The women in Djelo started doing this a couple months ago and it has been very successful!
A happy customer posing with her lantern in JangbarayiliCell phones and batteries charging in Jangbarayili
On the water front, sales are still slow at the water businesses due to the frequent rains. The good news? Our water tests continue to show that rainwater being collected the “right way,” meaning people have be following Saha’s instructions for washing their safe storage containers with soap and clean water and collecting the rain directly into their safe storage container.
Clean water at the school in Indigenous KabacheClean water in Tunga
Little Muftawu from Original Kabache loves drinking clean water! Children under the age of 5 are the most vulnerable to waterbourne disease. We are so glad that this little guy will never have to live without access to safe drinking water.Clean rainwater collected the right way in KagburasheThe water treatment center in Libi. During the rainy season, the ladies in Libi move the center “home.” They collect rainwater and store it in the polytank where they treat it with chlorine to keep the water clean. Then, when the rains start to slow, there is clean water ready to be sold to anyone that needs it.
Awabu from Banvim purchased 5 aquatabs from Amin
Clean water being stored in Banvim. This family has a designated cup that they use only for clean water. Saha recommends this practice because it helps to prevent re-contamination.
Challenges
There were a handful of water businesses challenges in the month of September. Tindan, Kadula and Manguli II had leaky polytanks that the women entrepreneurs had difficultly fixing on their own. Wahab, Eric and Amin were able to help the women fix the leaks and used the opportunity to train the ladies about how to fix this issue on their own.
Monitoring isn’t always glamorous. Sometimes, monitoring means getting stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire…And sometimes you get stuck in the mud after a rainy night.Peter waiting for his flat tire to get fixed.
The water issues this month took place in Kasuliyili and Jabaiyili. In Kasuliyili there is a new water project in the village which pumps untreated water from the dugout to a standpipe in the village. Although this water is not treated, and is still fecally contaminated, people in Kasuliyili prefer to fetch this water because it is more convenient then walking to the water business. This was disappointing because we have spent a lot of time on water, health and hygiene education in Kasuliyili. But, the reality is that families in this community, like all of our partner communities, are very, very busy. Their lives are hard and convenience often wins. Wahab and Peter met with Aisha and Fati and came up with a plan to move the water business to the center of town. They then plan to collect water from the standpipe and treat it in the polytank. We are all confident that this plan will increase sales and make it easy for families to access clean water again.
In Jabayili, someone stole two of their blue drums. The community is investigating the situation and hope to find the thief. If they can’t find the thief soon, then they will work out a plan for buying new blue drums. In the meantime, sales have slowed because the women only have one drum to use in their treatment process. Luckily, most families are collecting rain as their main source of drinking water, so the community has at least a month to figure out a plan before the rains start to slow.
The solar communities did not have any major issues this month. In Yapalsi, the Genset needed some small repairs, but the women paid for them on their own with the money they had saved and the business was up and running within the week.
Below are some more pictures from monitoring during September:
A customer on her way to buy water in YapalsiClean rain water in YapalsiThe grinding mill that the entrepreneurs are planning to purchase in Yapalsi.
Another day, another family who has collected rainwater the right way!Opening the solar center for business in first thing in the morning in Yapalsi.
