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
Some fun moments from the Fellows’ free time
The Fellows didn’t miss any Ghanaian World Cup games while they were in Tamale. They made sure to work their schedules around watching the big games!
On one of their free days, the Fellows trekked out to Kintampo Waterfalls for some hiking, lounging, and cooling off.
As a going away gift, and a thank you for all of his help, James and Ben gave Shak a beautiful baby goat!
During the downtime, James also introduced baseball to some children from the village.
The Second Annual CWS 5K!
Calling all runners and walkers, the second annual CWS 5K road race will take place on July 31st at 9:00am in Nantucket, MA. We had such a great time at this event last year and are excited to hold another race this summer!
The race starts and ends at the Delta Fields on Nobadeer Farm Road. Please visit our event site to pre-register! The race fee is $20 if you pre-register or $25 for the day of the race. Each runner will receive a CWS water bottle and have the chance to win great prizes!
Please email: info@communitywatersolutions.org if you have any questions!
Opening Day in Wambong!
Last Monday was a big day for the CWS Fellows; the culmination of all their work. The newly established treatment center (assembled by the Fellows) was opened for business and the villagers all came out with their new CWS storage containers (given to them by the Fellows) to fill them and start drinking clean water. The center was run by Abiba and Monera, the two women the Fellows had trained to run the center. Shak, Peter and the Fellows all made sure things ran smoothly and monitored the opening day sales.
The Fellows survived the long day and left with smiles on their faces. Almost the entire village had come to fill their containers and so began their permanent access to clean water!
A Successful Week!
After an intense week, the Fellows have officially set up a new treatment center and prepared their village, Wambong, for its grand opening! The village, originally thought to have had a maximum of 35 households, turned out to have over 104! So they’ve definitely had their hands full.
The week started with testing the water from the Wambong dugout.
* Next, the Fellows, met with the chief and elders of Wambong (55 village leaders were present in the meeting!) and explained that the village’s drinking water was dirty. They proposed working with Wambong and explained CWS’s approach. This meeting is the most important part of the process. It’s the initial contact with the community and establishes the relationship between the village and CWS moving forward. Ben did an excellent job leading the hour long meeting. Unfortunately, out of respect, we never allow photographs during these meetings.
The village leaders were excited to work with CWS and the Fellows set to work on building the new treatment center.
With the treatment center built, the containers distributed, and the women trained, the Wambong treatment center was ready to open!
Global Giving Match Day Was a Big Success!
Thank you to everyone that donated to CWS during Global Giving’s Match Day on June 16th – we raised over $4,000 for CWS! We are so grateful for your continued support!
Give a Day Today and earn a 50% Match!!
Give a Day Today, June 16 – and earn a 50% match!
Community Water Solutions is reaching out to our friends and supporters because today, June 16, our partner Global Giving (www.globalgiving.org) offering a 50% match on all donations to CWS made through the Global Giving website.
We’d like to use this special opportunity to invite you to join our new ‘Give a Day’ program.  You can make an immediate positive impact on the health and prosperity of rural village communities in Africa by contributing your compensation from a day of work.
By Giving a Day, you’ll have a chance to participate in the hard work and team spirit that our partners and colleagues at CWS enjoy week in and week out.
Here’s what the CWS team in Ghana can achieve in a day:
- Amina, who operates the treatment center in Gbong, can produce 400 liters of clean, safe drinking water for her village.
- Peter, a CWS Project Manager, can educate 50 households on water health & safety
- Soufoo, our Chief Engineer, can build a new treatment center using cement, sand, and other supplies from the market in Tamale
- Shak, another CWS Project Manager, can distribute safe storage containers to an entire village
What can you achieve in a day?
By contributing your compensation from a day at your regular work, combined with the 50% match from Global Giving, you’ll be moving us closer to our goal of bringing clean, safe water to eight new villages in 2010. We’d be thrilled to have you join us!
How to contribute
Visit the Community Water Solutions Page on Global Giving [http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/community-safe-water-solutions-for-ghana/] (not the CWS website!) TODAY, June 16 and donate with a credit card
Thanks so much for you continued support!