Scaling-Up
Community Water Solutions implemented our first water business in June 2008 in the village of Kasaligu in the Northern Region of Ghana.
7 months later, in January of 2009, we opened our second water business in Nyamaliga.
9 months later, in October 2009 we opened our third water business Jargiu.
After a successful holiday season of fundraising and with the help of our 2010 Summer Fellows, we opened four new water businesses during the first half of 2010, in Cheko, Gbong, Gidanturu, and Wambong.
We’ve spent the past two and half years slowly expanding, learning new things from each village, and slightly modifying our approach based on these lessons. We’ve learned a lot about fundraising, about building a non-profit, and about harnessing the enthusiasm and knowledge of willing volunteers.
We still have a lot to learn.
But, we now have the experience and resources to finally start scaling-up, and we’re planning to do it quickly! There are about 900,000 people in the Northern Region of Ghana (and 884 million around the world!) without clean drinking water, and we’re really excited to start making a significant dent in that number!
This November (as in right now!) CWS is implementing three new water businesses in the villages of Kampong, Galizengu, and Nyanguripe. By the end of December, we will be in two more. By February 2011, with the help of the 2011 Winter Fellows we will be in a total of 19 villages in Northern Region Ghana. In just three months, we are going to more than double to the amount of people we serve and we have no plans of slowing down!
Of course, the scale-up of CWS would not have been possible without your support. I would like to send out a big
THANK YOU
to everyone who has supported CWS over the past two years. We would especially like to thank the Public Service Center and the Legatum Center at MIT for funding our first two pilot villages, as well as our awesome village sponsors: Volunteer Shredding (Jarigu), iContact (Gbong), an anonymous friend (Cheko), Colleen and Jeff Clopeck (Gidanturu), The Medfield FitGirls (Kampong), Gerry and Judy O’Connell (Gilanzegu), The Nolans (Nyanguripe), The Reids (one of the villages for December), and the CWS Facebook Causes Team (the second village in December). Finally, I would also like to thank Jay Roche whose generous donation helped us to purchase the CWS Truck (without which, this scale-up would not be possible.) THANK YOU ALL!
Here are some pictures from our work over the past week in Kampong and Galinzegu. I have taken A LOT more, but the internet has been slow and sporadic, so these will have to do for now! I’ll keep trying to put more up on this blog as soon as possible!
Support the CWS Fellows!
The Community Water Solutions Winter Fellows are hard at work raising the funds needed to come to Ghana this winter. Each team of 4 must raise $10,000, which covers all of the materials costs for implementing a CWS water treatment center in a village in Ghana (which the fellows will be doing this winter), as well as their in-country travel, lodging, food and insurance. As many of you know, fundraising is an essential component of working for a non-profit, and we believe it is an important skill to teach the CWS Fellows. If you are interested in supporting one of the teams please check out their fundraising websites!
Team 1 – Luke, Mira, Heather and Catherine
Team 2 – Cam, Hannah, Nathan, and Sarah
Team 3 – Lauren, Elsie, Jim and Kathryn
Team 4 – Alexandra, Chris, Kevin, and Marlene
Team 5 – Adelina, Pranav, Sarah, and Shalyn
Team 6 – Karla, Hannah, Annie, and Samantha
Team 7 – Eleanor, Rachel, Fabiola, and Sanita
The 2011 Winter Fellows!
CWS is excited to announce our 2011 Winter Fellows:
Mira Thompson
Heather Vereb
Luke Sperduto
Catherine Betances
Camilo Velasquez
Hannah Hill
Nathan Bernard
Sarah Ghali
Lauren Wilson
Elsie Thomson
James East
Kathryn Padgett
Alexandra Barry
Chris Mehrvarzi
Kevin Anderson
Marlene Cedeno
Adelina Huo
Pranav Aurora
Sarah Fletcher
Shalyn Getz
Karla Franco
Annie McBride
Hannah Stonebraker
Samantha Derrick
Eleanor Horowitz
Rachel Goodgal
Fabiola Miakassissa
Sanita Dhaubanjar
Welcome to the Community Water Solutions Team! We are so excited for the two fellowship sessions this winter and can’t wait to start working with you in the field!
Support CWS With Your Everyday Purchases!
Apply for a new Community Water Solutions credit card and Capital One will donate to CWS when you make everyday purchases!
By using this card, CWS receives:
- $50 after your first purchase
- 2% donation on gas and grocery purchases
- 1% donation on all other purchases
- 10% of purchases made at select merchants
APPLY FOR A COMMUNITY WATER SOLUTIONS CREDIT CARD NOW!
Credit approval required. Terms and conditions apply. Offered by Capital One, N.A. © 2010 Capital One.
CWS on the Road!
For the next three weeks, the CWS will be on the road, recruiting students and young professionals for the CWS Fellowship Program! We will be holding information sessions at colleges an universities all around the East Coast, and we would love to see you there! Although these info session are taking place at schools, they are open to anyone who would like to learn more about the Fellowship Program – so if you’re in the area, come on by!
Community Water Solutions Fellowship Program, Fall Information Sessions:
9/10 – Connecticut College, 4:30 pm, Blaustein Rm 203.
9/13 – University of Virginia, 7:00 pm, the Kaleidoscope Center, Newcomb Hall
9/14 – Georgetown University, 4:00 pm, the Leavey Center, Seminar Room 1
9/16 – Virginia Tech, 7:00 pm, Randolph Rm 331
9/20 – Amherst College, 6:00 pm, Career Center, College Hall, First Floow
9/21 – Middlebury College, 4:30 pm, location TBD
9/23 – Yale University, 5:00 pm, location TBD rescheduled for the first week in October! We’ll let you know when and where soon!
9/24 – MIT, 1:00-3:00 pm, MIT International Development Fair, Student Street, Stata Center
9/27 – Tufts University, 6:30 pm, Location TBD
9/28 – Boston University, 5:00 pm, SMG, Rm 222
Applications Posted for the CWS Winter 2011 Fellowship!
Applications are now posted for the 2011 Winter Fellowship Program are now posted on our website! Apply now and come join us in Ghana for 3 weeks!
questions? email kate at kclopeck@communitywatersolutions.org.
Gene Mitchell and Lisa Danielson Win 2nd Annual CWS 5K!
The 2nd Annual Community Water Solutions 5K was great success, drawing over 100 participants and raising $2,500 for our work in Ghana! The weather was perfect, and the runners and walkers all enjoyed a beautiful Nantucket day. Gene Mitchell was the first male finisher with a time of 16:41 and Lisa Danielson took first place for the females, finishing in 19:47. You can download the rest of the results on the official race website.
The Inquirer and Mirror, a local Nantucket newspaper, took some great pictures which you can view on their sport’s page photo gallery.
Thank you to everyone who came out and ran, walked or volunteered! We are so grateful for your support! A special thanks to our amazing sponsors, without whom this great event would not have been possible: Nantucket Health Club, Nantucket Pure, Bartlett’s Farm, Vineyard Vines, Triple 8 Vodka, Young’s Bicycle Shop, dune, and the Sunken Ship.
Mark Your Calendars: The 2011 CWS Fellowship Dates are Set!
We are very excited to announce that in 2011 CWS will be offering four Fellowship sessions in Ghana! The first two sessions will take place this winter, from December 27th – January 14th and January 8th – January 29th. The second two sessions will take place this summer, from May 27th – June 17th and June 10th – July 1st. Applications for the winter sessions will be be available soon. In the meantime, please email info@communitywatersolutions.org if you have any questions!
A Successful First Fellowship Program
The CWS Fellowship was a great success for all those involved. The Fellows learned a lot about water treatment, experienced an insight into what life in development is like, and became great friends, with each other, with their translators, Shak and Peter, and with the villagers in the process. Most importantly, they left behind a permanent business which will provide access to clean drinking water and improve the quality of life for a village of almost a thousand people. The CWS community grew by five incredible individuals this summer and we are grateful for the opportunity to have shared our experience with them. We hope Amaia, Ben, James, Molly and Sarah will return to visit us and Wambong one day. They will always be a part of CWS and as we support and monitor the Wambong center over the next year, we will continue to update the Fellows on the success of their project. We are excited and look forward to many more Fellowship Programs in the future and would like to thank our Fellows once more for helping us shape and improve the program for our next Fellows.
Thank you,
-The CWS Team