Blog

Voices from the Field: Team A

Posted on by communitywatersolutions

Antire ! (good afternoon) from Tamale and greetings from the remaining members from team A!

Yesterday was a very exciting day for us because we were able to meet face to face almost every individual in our village (Manguli). Our day yesterday consisted of walking from household to household distributing clean water containers that they will use to collect their families clean water from their new clean water source. It was amazing to be welcomed into every household and get to know each family individually. It was a very exciting day for our team, as all the people that we got know were very excited about the work we were doing. The day was also challenging, as we had to distribute forty- six clean water storage buckets!

Last night was tough as one of our contributing team members Matt Gillstrap returned home to the states as he had grad school to prepare for. Matt’s hard work did not go unrewarded as today was opening day for the village of Manguli giving clean water to ever household for the first time!

Safe Travels Matt! We miss you!

We began our day in Manguli like the days prior with first meeting at the Chief’s household to pay our respects and discuss our plan for the day. Every time we get to interact with the chief it is a really amazing experience as we go back and forth through our translator Nestor.

After meeting with the chief all the women and elders of the village met us at the new polytank with their buckets. There was a great opening ceremony with prayers said and water passed around; after that there was a four-hour frenzy of getting water into everyone’s buckets. It was very rewarding to see everyone so enthusiastic about their clean water.

Clean water for everyone!

When we met with the chief after everyone picked up their clean water he presented us with a guinea fowl and six cassavas to express his and the village’s deep appreciation. Can’t wait to make a meal of them!

The chief of Manguli with Laura and our new Guniea Fowl

-Laura and Alex (and Matt)

Voices From the Field: Team F

Posted on by communitywatersolutions
Team F: Asia, Luke, Amin (our translator), Lindsey and Kelly in front of the water treatment center in Laligu

What’s up, from Team F?!?!? Today, we had the last day of training for the women of our village, Laligu, and had to finish distributing our safe storage containers. When we met our women at the dugout, we taught them how to manage the money that they will be earning from the water sales. Our women will be charging 10 pesewas for each bucket of water. This money will go towards purchasing supplies in the future and also to provide them with a small container. Asia, Luke and Lindsey acted out purchasing the water to show our women how much they need to put aside each day so that they can keep the center functioning well into the future.

Lindsey playing with some of the awesome children in Laligu

While today was not our most exciting day, we were all running off of the emotions of yesterday. Two days ago, Team F started the purification process in what was one of the most demanding days we have experienced thus far. Lindsey and Kelly had to fill up one of the 200 L blue drums with water. Since we have yet to master the art of carrying buckets on our heads, it required many trips back and forth with small pails of dugout water. After a long morning, Team F was able to add the alum and call it a day. Monday, however, was probably the most exciting day for our team. We finally got to show our women how to run the center on their own and they caught on so quickly. We were taken aback at how easily they were able to figure out the best ways to clean out the drums, add the alum and fill up the 140 L polytank. But the moment of truth came when we opened the spigot for the first time and out came clear water. Lindsey started passing around a cup filled with clean water and telling all the children that had gathered to drink the water. This was a very emotional but wonderful experience for us all!

Team F collecting gravel to fill the polytank stand

The women who will be running our center, Sharatu and Abawu, were so happy after seeing the clean water. They told us that they are excited to have clean water because now they will be able to keep their kids healthy and make their medicines. If that doesn’t make all the work worth it, what does?! Tomorrow, Team F will be opening our Clean Water System in Laligu. We are expecting a great turnout. Even the chief (who has never been to the dugout) is going to be there! We are so excited about tomorrow and even more excited about this wonderful opportunity to provide clean water to our village!!

Team F hanging out at our completed polytank stand with all of the men from the village who helped us build it!

-Asia, Lindsey, Luke and Kelly

Voices from the Field: Team E!

Posted on by communitywatersolutions
Team E: Nate, Janelle, Emma, Hannah and our awesome translator TJ by our finished polytank stand!

Team E here! Today we completed building the concrete platform upon which our polytank and blue drums will stand. We began the day with a trip to the market to fetch some supplies, namely the three blue 250 L drums. We somehow managed to fit both the supplies and ourselves in our small truck and began the journey to Kpaniyili. Janelle and Nate sat in the bed of the truck holding onto the blue drums, while Hannah, Emma and TJ crammed into the front seat. Once we arrived, we unloaded the drums from the truck bed and replaced them with about 10 villagers, all of whom agreed to help us finish building the stand. Several others followed suit on their bicycles and together we all ventured to the designated spot where we had begun building yesterday. The people of Kpaniyili had already filled the stand, so cementing remained the only step left in the construction process.

We watched as the mason went to work, combining sand, gravel and water to make the cement. Once the mixing process was complete, we covered the top and sides of the stand with a thick layer of this hand-mixed cement. Everyone reached in and grabbed a handful, including ourselves, but the villagers were much better at laying the cement than we were. Nevertheless, determined to contribute, we continued to try. If anything, our efforts served as a great source of entertainment and many of the men got a good laugh. Once the entire structure had been cemented and smoothed over, our translator and each CWS Fellow carved his or her name into the top. Several of the men assisting us placed their handprints alongside our names – a symbolic tribute to the cooperation and collaboration of efforts that went into this entire process.

Tomorrow, given that our truck pulls through, we will finish bringing out the supplies and hopefully begin training the women! We have loved working with the people of Kpaniyili thus far, and are extremely excited to begin the next phase of this project with them.

-Nate, Emma, Hannah, and Janelle

Voices from the Field: Team D

Posted on by communitywatersolutions

Today was one of the most exciting days so far for Team D because it was the first day of building! As we pulled into the village, Kpachiyili, the children were all together near the entrance, Peter, our translator, told us that they were there waiting for us. All of the villagers were smiling, waving and genuinely happy to see us. We greeted the chief and then got right down to business. In our past meeting, we decided to build the polytank stand in an area near the dugout that does not flood in the rainy season. Some men came with us in the truck to help build the stand and the children surrounded us as we began to work. Peter wanted music, so we brought the speakers outside and all of the kids sat down right next to where the music was playing. We unloaded all of the supplies from the truck and Peter drew a design in the sand for where the bricks would go. He made the design in the shape of what looked to be something like an igloo. The men laid the bricks and mixed the cement. Then Peter showed us how to use to the trowels to put the cement in between the bricks. He let all of us help. With the help of the villagers, we built the initial part of the polytank stand. The process did not take as long as I expected and we were done within an hour. It was awesome getting to see the fruits of our labor! Before we could move on in the building process, we have to wait for the cement to dry. Tomorrow we are going to fill the base of the stand with gravel and then plaster the entire thing so that the polystand will be able to sit on top.

Sarah holding hands with one of the Elders in our village
Brianan and Larissa working extra hard to build the polytank stand!
Sarah, Larissa and Peter at work with the trowels and the cement.

After, we went back to the chief to tell him what we had accomplished and that we would be back tomorrow. We sat on a bench facing him and he gave us some chief wisdom. He told us that you must live your life through goodness and try to pass on good to others. Although we must live through goodness, he said that this goodness is the work of God. The chief always likes to relate everything back to God and the will of God. He said that he hopes that someday the children of his village will be so educated that they will get to leave the village, travel and develop their skills so as to eventually better the village. The chief puts much emphasis on education and the welfare of the children. He is awesome!

The first part of the polytank stand is complete. WOOHOO!

When the chief was done sharing his wisdom with us, something unexpected happened. A boy brought a live chicken to our meeting with the chief.  Peter said that the chief and villagers wanted to prepare us some food but they were unsure of what we ate. So instead of preparing something, they decided to give us this chicken. The chief thanked us and the boy gave the chicken to Mark. The chief continued by saying that we must all eat this chicken and it will give us the strength to finish our work in the village. He also said that before we eat this chicken, we must thank our parents for helping us get to where we are today. If we do all of us this, he said that all of us will someday find wives and husbands. Peter nicknamed the chicken, Mr. Coq. We were all so excited and shocked to receive such a gift. We asked the chief to take pictures with us and the chicken and he agreed. After, we showed the chief the picture and he shrieked with excitement. He said, “Oh this makes me too happy”. What an unforgettable day. Finally it was time for us to go and Mark held the chicken on his lap (which later pooped on him, ha!). All of the children chased the truck down the road as we left the village. This has been the best day of the trip so far. Peter’s mom is going to prepare Mr. Coq for us tomorrow for Mark’s birthday; it will be quite the feast!

Team D (Mark, Larissa, Brianan, Sarah and Peter) with the chief of Kpachiyili and Mr. Coq

-Brianan, Mark, Sarah, and Larissa

Voices from the Field: Team C

Posted on by communitywatersolutions

Its that time again faithful followers! Thats right, our 2012 Winter Fellows have officially started working in their villages and so its time for them to take over the blog to share their stories from the field! First up is Team  C (also known as Team Cool…)

Team C (Peter, Zander, Michelle and Janelle) and our translator Ayisha on one of our first days in our village!

Despa from Tamale!

Yesterday was the first day that we got to meet our village! We left at 8am, but we got lost on the way so it took us almost 2 hours to get there. Being lost was actually kind of fun, we saw a lot of cities and villages, different African landscapes, and even drove through a University Campus! As we were driving, we saw a lot of signs for different NGOs, including The Children’s Fund, World Food Program, and Catholic Relief Services. It hit us that the pictures that we’ve been taking of the “bibala” (children) look just like the pictures in the Save the Children ads that we all see on TV; it made a few of us sad to think about but at the same time we were excited our team is actually here helping. When we made it to our village, Kurugu Vohoyiai, we were greeted by several men. We met the chief and Janelle began to explain to him who we are. Another NGO, Water For Life, had visited the village before us, so at first there was some confusion. Community Water Solutions contacted Water for Life and cleared everything up for us.

Our chief meeting went great! The room that we met in was filled with cassava, and we just sat on a bench with him to tell him about CWS. He seemed really excited to work with us, but explained that he could not simply make a decision for the entire village, so the next day we should come back for a village meeting.

The village meeting today was a huge success! Everyone sat around us in a big circle, the elders to the front of us, the women and girls on one side, and the men and boys on the other. Janelle stood in the middle with Ayisha (our translator), and we talked to them about CWS. We explained how we work without pipes or anything mechanical, we talked to them about the implementation and training process, and we emphasized the importance of clean water. At first, they acknowledged that they weren’t sure how to handle their water problem because the dirty dugout was the only water source god gave them, but as we continued to explain to them they began to understand that there was a connection between the dirty water they were drinking and the diseases in the village. By the end of the meeting, everyone was so excited to get started!

Janelle doing an awesome job explaining CWS during the village meeting while Ayisha translates
The men at the community meeting
Ayesha passing around the water test results that we brought to help show the difference between contaminated water from the dugout and safe drinking water.

We walked over to the dugout with the leader of the village, and together we picked out where the Water Treatment Center will be built. The children of the village followed us all the way back to our car, and held our hands up until it was time to leave. We spent the rest of the day buying supplies so we are ready to start building first thing tomorrow. We can’t wait to get started!

Peter and Janelle on their way to check out the dugout with some new friends from our community!

-Janelle, Zander, Peter, and Michelle

New Years Eve In Tamale

Posted on by communitywatersolutions

Happy New Year! We had a great end to 2011 here in Ghana and celebrated the new year in style at Tamale hot spot, Sparkles. The Fellows started off the last day of 2011 by visiting some of CWS current villages.

Matt, Nester, Alex, and Laura by the Jerigu dugout

In the afternoon the Fellowship team rotated through the lab, where they learned how to do water quality testing with the samples that they took in the CWS villages that morning.

Tim and Janna working hard in the lab

When teams were not in the lab, they were back at the guest house taking part in some awesome team-building exercises. Our Fellowship Leader, Stef, was very involved in summer camp growing up and had a whole toolkit of activities for the teams to participate in!

The spider web - this activity involved a lot of trust in your teammates!
Matt was a pro at the army crawl
A blindfolded race against other teams? Definitely requires a lot of trust in your teammate

After a long day of orientation, the we were ready to ring in the New Year! Everyone had a great time celebrating the end of 2011 at Sparkles!

Michelle, Laura, Zander and Janelle on NYE at Sparkles
Laura, Michelle, Luke, Caitlin, Kelly, Sarah, Katie, Emma, Mark, Kristen and Brittany getting ready to ring in 2012
Sauf, Mohammed, me (kate), Hamza, Stef, Sarah, Janna and Larissa
Laura and Lindsay practicing the West African dance moves that they learned the previous night!
Walter, Peter and Alex on NYE at Sparkles
5...4...3....2....1..... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

First Day in Tamale

Posted on by communitywatersolutions

So it was our first full day in Tamale and we were so excited to finally get the ball rolling after long flights, long bus rides, and lots of jetlagged fatigue to overcome.  Everyone was ready to get settled in and really begin the CWS process.  The morning started off with some fun icebreakers and get-to-you-know you games for our new 33 Fellows; and people are really starting to come out of their shells and now that they are adjusted to Ghanaian time, starting to let loose and let their personalities shine.  It was a great way for all of us to be officially introduced to one another and to start forging friendships.

Image
Caitlin showing off her moves!

The morning was also filled with some orientation and CWS training, including an introduction to Ghanaian history and culture, some information regarding the global water crisis and on water-bourne disease prevention.  The afternoon however was a huge surprise for our Fellows…we sent them on a challenging scavenger hunt in the Tamale market, which they have never even seen, let alone been to!  They had to bring back items including cola nuts, groundnut paste, spices, guinea fowl eggs, they had to pound fufu, play the drums and even find a movie starring Harrison Ford.  However, the best part about it, was that it was a complete surprise…the looks on their faces when we started the countdown for them to pile into cabs were pretty hilarious and great!

Image
Boyd getting his groove on
Image
Luke, Lindsey Asia and Kelly with their loot from the scavenger hunt

Afterwards, Kate gave a few more presentations on the CWS mission, organization and implementation process so the Fellows could really grasp what it is that they will be doing in their villages.  So far, all the Fellows have been incredibly engaged, curious and learning a lot!

But the night wrapped up with a surprise performance by traditional African dancers and drummers!  They were fantastic!  They danced, sang, and played all night long!  And of course, they pulled us all up one by one to dance with them…semi embarrassing, semi awesome!  It was the perfect end to a great first full day in Tamale.

Image
Mark, Sarah, Larissa, and Brianan showing off their scavenger hunt finds!

 

-Steph

 

Quick Update!

Posted on by communitywatersolutions

Hi Everyone!

Just checking in to give a quick update. Our Winter Fellows arrived in Tamale tonight safe and sound, are all checked-in at the guest house and enjoying their air-conditioned rooms!

Michelle (who was on our only delayed flight!) will be arriving in the morning just in time for Orientation. The Fellowship Leaders and I can’t wait to start teaching the Fellows all about CWS and are so excited for our busy day tomorrow! We’ll hopefully have some great pictures to start sharing soon!

Happy New Year!

Kate

An (almost) successful travel day!

Posted on by communitywatersolutions

I think this has been the one of the luckiest travel days in the history of the CWS Fellowship Program! 30 of our Fellows flew to Ghana today and only 1 was delayed. Considering its the middle of the winter, I’d say we’re pretty lucky! Our 1 delayed Fellow (Michelle) will be landing tomorrow and will head up to Tamale with Shak on Friday. If all goes as planed Michelle and Shak will also be bringing up the four pieces of luggage that didn’t make it to Accra with their traveling Fellows!

Can’t wait for our whole group to be together in Tamale!

-Kate

Let the fun begin!

Posted on by communitywatersolutions
Welcome to Ghana! (the view from the plane when landing in Accra! Parents and Friends - this is probably the very first taste of Ghana our Fellows will experience!)

The first small group of Fellows (Alex, Emma, and Brittany) have arrived safe and sound in Accra and are relaxing at the guest house with our awesome Fellowship Leaders. The the rest of the group arrives tomorrow and then everyone will head up to join me in Tamale on the 29th. I just can not wait for everyone to get up here!
I’ll be sure to post on the blog tomorrow night once everyone is here safe and sound – so parents, you can check back tomorrow for a quick update!

-Kate