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Field Rep Voices: Team Caleb, Joanne, Shanelle, Wyatt and Shak

Posted on January 14, 2017January 16, 2017 by admin

Today was our second day of distributing lanterns to the more than 45 households in the beautiful village of Jagberin.

About two hours outside of Tamale, Jagberin as a village is on the larger side and rather spread out. It seems like there are almost two separate parts of the village with several minutes of driving between them. The part that we were familiar with, where the solar center was built, was where we passed out a little over half of the lanterns yesterday. Today we got to explore a new part of the village and even meet some new members of the village.

Interestingly, the slightly smaller section of Jagberin that we visited today was much denser than the main part of the village. From where we had been so far, only a handful of households were within eyesight of each other. This new part of the village, on the other hand, had more than 10 households within a couple hundred feet of each other. Because of this, we were able to talk to a lot more people in a shorter amount of time!

As this was the second day we were passing out lanterns, everyone seemed to know we were coming and even had their money ready. Despite being separated from the majority of the village, word must have spread quickly because these people were even more excited and willing to help. This gave us more time to just talk with them about what they think of the village and get to know them a little better.

After we finished passing out the rest of the lanterns, we used the rest of the day to finish training the women who will run the solar business. We reviewed and quizzed them on the technical training that they had been learning in the past couple days and they did everything perfectly. They were even charging batteries ahead of time in preparation for opening night! Next we worked on some of the business training like saving money and recording sales. Since they were already running the water business, they quickly picked up on almost every sale. The one thing that we did notice them struggle with was keeping tally of transactions. They had no trouble counting, but it’s not often that they use pen and paper. Not only that, but the tally method of counting was new to them, but they caught on quickly! All in all, the women entrepreneurs and the entire village are showing a lot of enthusiasm and looking ready for opening night tomorrow!

*Joanne trains the women entrepreneurs before opening night*

Field Rep Voices: Team Lexie, Shama, Sita, Tess and Walker

Posted on January 13, 2017January 13, 2017 by admin

Team Sita here,
So far we have had an amazing two weeks in Tamale, Ghana. We learned a ton about the Ghanaian culture and language during the first few days of orientation. We then visited a water business that was set up earlier in the year to see what the community thought about it. We heard nothing but positive feedback, such as: “Our stomachs do not hurt anymore;” “We love the taste of the water;” “It is soooo clear!!!We love it!!!” We were also all pleasantly welcomed by the community especially by the children. I can speak for the group when I say that we definitely didn’t have enough fingers for all the little hands that wanted to hang on. That experience certainly helped us build a vision for starting our future water business.

The team with Parishenaaya’s polytank stand

Fast forward to today, we worked from 7:30am-2:30pm out in the field with our two female entrepreneurs, our translator Sita, and of course one of our village’s babies, who we promptly named “angry baby,” came a long to watch us. We began the day by filling up our Poly Tank with our three 200mL drums. We treated the drums yesterday with alum and let them set overnight. It was crazy to see all the settlement and dirt that collected at the bottom of the drums. The women always love to comment on how clear the water is. The other day we were touched by how the women reacted when we had to dump out some of our newly purified water to start a new cycle. They were upset because the water was so clean, so they decided to collect the rest of it and bring it back to the village with them to share with their community. After we added in the water to the Poly Tank we purified it using three chlorine tablets. We then helped the women fetch water from their dugout to refill the three drums and treat them with alum again.

I then tested the women on how to fit the tap to the buckets and they did a great job after a few tries. Next, Shama taught them how to fix the red button on the tap so they were good to go to help their community with any problems they may face with their safe storage containers. We then walked back to the village where Walker, Tess, and Sita went to thirteen family units and talked them through how to use their safe storage containers so that they do not re-contaminate the clean water that they buy. Because I was working with Shama today, I can go more in-depth about what it was like for us keeping the kids occupied and learning more about the villagers. The first hour or so we played around five games of Duck Duck Goose, which consisted of a lot more than just simply running around the circle. During one of the rounds it was only Shama and I with one of the girls left and I was going around and decided to pick Shama. I took off running in the opposite direction because I knew she would have been able to just reach around and catch me because of our small circle. I took off into the field with Shama right on my heels and Parishenaaya’s kids and elders laughing hysterically in the distance. Needless to say both Shama and I got our workout in for the day!

After Duck Duck Goose we taught them how to play Down By The Banks where you sit in a circle and hit the hand of the person sitting next to you until the end of the song. It was funny to watch the kids try and guess when the song, which they have never heard before, was going to end so they knew when to pull their hand away. We were even able to get one of the older men involved with our game but he was just as confused but joyful as many of the children were. We then played some volleyball with a soccer ball which marks the first time any of us have seen “angry baby” smile. Walker claimed that “angry baby” was the cutest out of all of the children in the village, yet he feels like this baby in particular hates him the most. We have tried tickling him, making funny faces and even faking our own deaths a few times now; however, nothing but a soccer ball can make that baby smile. We hope that in addition to the soccer ball that clean water will also make him crack a grin, were not asking for a smile…just a grin would be a success in our book. Overall, we had a really productive day and look forward to continuing to distribute our safe storage containers tomorrow so that we can hopefully open up for business on Wednesday. We are all so excited to finally see our business come to life because we and the village have put in a lot of time and effort to see this business through.

This has been an eye opening experience for all of us and we would definitely recommend it to everybody looking to make a positive and long lasting difference in the lives of so many. Our community, Parishenaaya, is made up of 30 different family units and on average those households can hold up to eight people so having clean water will definitely change our community for the better.

Cheers,
Lexie, Shama, Walker & Tess

Field Rep Voices: Team Alberta, Kevin, Nikita, Yu and Zulean

Posted on January 11, 2017 by admin

Zuro to Hero!

Our time in Ghana is flying by, and we couldn’t be happier than to say that we’ve been spending our time in the amazing village of Zuro in Ghana’s Northern Region. Zuro is a small village of just 13 households, but the people are extremely warm and friendly and have accepted us with open arms! Our first day in the community involved our team (with the help of our lovely translator Alberta) meeting with the village’s chief and getting his permission to start our business.

With his blessing, we moved forward step by step, and over the past few days we have successfully completed tasks like painting our polytank stand, assembling our safe storage containers, installing our drums and polytanks, and testing our dugout water as well.

(Don’t tell anyone but of course there have been a few surprises and snags along the way, but #WhenInGhana you learn to roll with the punches!)

Every day has lead to new progress for our team, and we have continued to forge new bonds with our village, especially with our incredible entrepreneurs Sakina and Abbiba, who couldn’t be more helpful and gracious.

We are constantly being surprised by the similarities that we all share, and how we can still communicate and work together, no matter the barriers, be they cultural, linguistic, or social, and achieve our goals.

As we quickly approach the opening of our water business later this week, we couldn’t be more excited than to continue to forge new connections and bonds with the citizens of Zuro as we go from household to household distributing safe storage containers and explaining the benefits of drinking the clean water we have worked so hard to provide. It’s crazy to think of how far we have come, from having ZURO clue what we were doing in Ghana, to assimilating into our village and successfully creating a clean water business from the ground up! More to come! 🙂

-Team Alberta FOREVER

Field Rep Voices: Team Becky, Micah, Peter, Shannon and Terynek

Posted on January 8, 2017 by admin

A meeting to remember

As the Winter 2017 Saha Global field representatives have completed orientation in Tamale, each team recently went out to their assigned villages for the first time. In this blog post members of “Team Peter”, named for their translator and long-time Saha Global employee, reflect on their first encounter with the community of Labariga.

Becky: The implementation process so far has been a lesson in perspective. I was the team member to lead the community meeting a few days ago at Labariga, with the help of Peter translating. While the content I presented was similar to the material I told the chief and elders, the experience was vastly different. Looking out onto all the members honestly took my breath away. Gathered under the shade of a large and old tree, I explained why we were here. As I explained the difference of dirty and clean water, I saw understanding dawn on men and women to my left and right. I passed around tests that showed the presence of E. Coli in the water from their stream and then clean water samples. It was such an honor to be able to share with this community that we came to give them access to fresh, clean drinking water and to watch their faces as they learned this. To have my words be the ones that brought about this new opportunity was so profound, and I don’t think I’ll forget how it felt to be fully in that moment. From the outside looking in, it was a circle of people looking at these strange salamingas (foreigners). From my vantage point, it was a group of friends learning and growing together. But regardless of perspective, it was a moment that our entire community at Labariga will always remember.

Shannon: The most memorable moment for me was meeting the whole village for the first time. Seeing the faces of every man, woman, and child in Labariga connected me to the mission of Saha in a whole new way — it became personal.

I’ll never forget how they welcomed us into their community, literally bringing us into their circle as we talked about the water treatment center. Even though we could not speak the same language, I believe everyone could feel just how special that moment was. It was the beginning of a new chapter for us all.

Micah: Sitting on the edge of a circle with the whole Labariga community provided a glimpse into the nuances of their village life. As Becky spoke to the community about their water, I watched the people around us for hints about their customs. Some things were obvious: men and women sat on opposite sides of the circle; older people were given chairs while children sat at their feet and the young men and women stood behind (demonstrating a level of respect for age that often seems absent in the United States); all of the village elders sat around the chief. As the conversation continued, it became clearer and clearer that each of these community members understood some sense of a code of conduct, the intricacies of which escaped me.

When given the chance to ask questions, it seemed as though the whole community waited for one of the older women to speak before raising their own inquiries. Was this woman given such respect because she was the oldest, or perhaps because she was married to the chief, or perhaps because she had some special role to play in providing the community with water? Which woman was the mother of which child? It was nearly impossible to tell, as each kid moved seamlessly between the women, congregating now around one and then branching off to another. As I watched the people around me, I was increasingly aware of the fact that the people of Labariga were all operating under a nuanced set of roles which I could only guess at — out of everything we have done so far, it was the simultaneously the clearest and most mystifying look into the culture of our community.

Terynek: Everything I have encountered I have captured on camera. The emotion, I think, translated through visuals is more than words can express, and being able to capture special moments on camera is a lasting memory no one can take from you. You will always remember the exchange that you experienced.

We can’t wait to work with our entrepreneurs to get this clean water business up and running!

Team Peter enjoys some coconut refreshment!

Team Peter (and then some!) meet Moya’s entrepreneurs

Micah, Shannon, Becky and Terynek monitor a household in Galinzeigu

Becky discusses the proposed water business with Lagbariga

Field Rep Voices: Team Alex C, Caroline, Louis, Maureen and TJ

Posted on January 7, 2017January 7, 2017 by admin

Throughout our short journey so far with Saha, the chief meeting seemed to be one of the more intimidating things on our agenda. If it went well, then you could proceed to work on your team’s mission of building a fresh water or solar business. If it didn’t go well then it would be very disappointing for your team and you would have to find another place to go. Thankfully, none of the teams had to do this.

Alex, Louis, and TJ ask questions about Tuya’s dugout

Team TJ went to a village named Tuya and I was chosen to be the spokesperson to the chief. We basically had to pitch a business proposal which included what we would be doing, how we would be doing it, and what part the village would play in the business.

The day started by arriving at the village and finding the chief and elders to ask for a meeting with them. We knew there was a possibility that the chief would be away and that we would have to schedule for another day, so we started by asking some people if the chief was there. We were happy to find that he was there and we were told to wait where we were.

An elder approached us as we were waiting and we greeted him by squatting and greeting him. He said that he would call the others together for the meeting. Plastic chairs were brought out for us and there were benches available for the chief and elders to sit on. The whole village started to assemble and the chief meeting quickly turned into a community meeting. This put a little more pressure on the situation, but being in the presence of the people we would possibly be working with gave me the energy to present the business plan as well as I could. Seeing the faces of the children, the mothers, and the chief and elders made me realize how excited I was to be in Ghana working to make their lives better.

The team with members of the Tuya community!

The elder who approached us before sat down with some others and our translator, TJ, asked if the chief was coming. To our surprise we found out that he was the chief. He hadn’t told us earlier when we first met him and seemed to laugh about it as if he had tricked us quite well.

I started the meeting by greeting the community and thanking the chief for allowing us to have a meeting with them. I explained to the community that the water they were drinking was very harmful for their health. They laughed at this because they knew that the quality of their water could be so much better. I then explained more about the business. The chief and elders said “naa” or “mmm” throughout TJ’s translation of the business proposal. It was so interesting to hear this as their version of agreeing with what I was saying or approving of it.

At the end of the presentation the chief thanked us for bringing our plan to them and that they were so excited for this opportunity. They believe that healthy water is so important. They agreed to pick two women, make a household list, and meet with us the next day. We then presented the chief with cola nuts and passed it around for everyone to have a bite of. It was an interesting moment to witness the customs of the Dagomba people, and it was deeply humbling to be welcomed into the community with such open arms. They even gave us community names: ti pag ya, nassari, tadadi, and wumpini (spelling on these may be incorrect). What had seemed like an intimidating assignment of meeting with the chief had turned into a great success and we left with an overwhelming feeling of joy and excitement to get started with the rest of our project.

TJ helps Louis translate information about the blue drums

Kids of Tuya with Maureen, Alex, and Caroline

Saha’s 2017 Winter Program Kicks Off!

Posted on December 29, 2016December 29, 2016 by admin

Akwaaba (as they say here in the south of Ghana) to all our Winter 2017 Field Reps! Caleb, Wyatt, Erin, Sarah, Shanelle, Joanne, Shane, Qingyi, Louis, Micah, Caroline, Elijah, Lexie, Maureen, Tess, Yu, Mona-Mae, Alex C, Ann, Kalin, Matt, Zulean, Shaminika, Kevin, Walker, Morgan, Nikita, Terynek, Yueyue, Alex K, Becky, Laura, Olivia and Shannon all arrived safely throughout the day today and yesterday, even despite some Harmattan flight cancellations in Accra.

Tomorrow, the fun begins! Most of us are busing up to Tamale right now, and the late-comers (Shane, Louis, Sarah and Lexie) will bus up with Ghana Program Director Peter Friday! Then it’s orientation, so stay tuned.

Over and out,

– Team Saha

Meet Our Field Reps: Jeremy Lakin

Posted on September 8, 2016September 8, 2016 by admin

My name is Jeremy Lakin and I’m originally from Reading, PA. After graduating from high school in Lancaster, PA I moved to NYC to attend NYU. I graduated in May 2015 with a BA in politics and Romance Languages. While I was lucky enough to be introduced to the water and sanitation through an internship at charity: water I really wanted to get first hand experience working with populations affected by a lack of access to clean drinking water. I found Saha on a whim when I was looking for jobs after college and immediately fell in love with Saha’s mission and model, particularly its dedication to monitoring.

I went with this past winter group in 2015-2016 and worked in a village called Futa, about 45 mins away from our home base in Tamale. One of the moments that I will never forget is visiting this one household a few days after we opened the clean water business. The woman that lived there told us that she recently had a visitor from Tamale visit her. When she offered him water he turned it down at first, but when she showed him she had clean, safe drinking water he was amazed. The smile on her face and the pride she expressed is something I’ll never forget. It really put the water crisis into new perspective for me. It isn’t just a health crisis, but a crisis of dignity and pride, and Saha addresses all of these needs.

I’m so grateful for this opportunity because it gave me invaluable field experience. All the reading and classwork can’t prepare you for being the first foreigner a child meets, or how to react when your polytank springs a leak. This experience affirmed my desire for a career in international development. I recently finished a six month internship with Global Health Corps. I’m a finalist for Global Health Corps’ highly selective fellowships and have been accepted to SIPA at Columbia thanks in great part to Saha Global.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions about the Saha Global Leadership Program at jdlakin4@gmail.com. You can also learn more about me and check in to see what I’m up to now here!

Meet Our Field Reps: Lilly Prince

Posted on July 5, 2016 by admin

Hello everyone! My name is Lilly Prince. I am 26 years old, originally from Orlando, Florida, but now I currently living in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduating from University of South Carolina with a BA in Public Health, I journeyed to Ghana with Saha Global in the summer of 2013. I was a part of the first team to implement water businesses in the Salaga area. My team worked with the lovely people of Kideng village!

I was inspired when I discovered Saha Global and researched their mission and model. As an aspiring public health professional, I quickly took the opportunity to work in the field on a health problem I’m passionate about, to experience NGO program implementation first hand, and to immerse myself in a different culture. Saha Global is a sustainable, economically sound organization that is simply a facilitator in rural Ghana’s goal toward healthier communities. Learning more about the global water crisis through the daily lives of Ghanaians in low resource settings helped me become a better, more understanding public health professional.

My favorite memory while in Ghana was when our team held a big community meeting right in the middle of Kideng village. Almost all community members were present: children, mothers, teens, but most impactful to me were all the elders—men and women—sitting in the innermost circle. They listened intently as we made our water business pitch. (Yes, you have to convince your village that implementation will be beneficial to them!) The people of Kideng were enthusiastic and genuinely interested in what we had to say. This was so memorable for me because I know that this eagerness does not always happen; and our team was lucky to be working with a village that sincerely wanted to make a change to improve their overall health.

Although I graduated with a major in Public Health, Saha Global really opened my eyes to the urgency of health on a global scale. Participating in the Global Leadership Program allowed me to face and overcome many challenges that are common in global health work. I was able to take what I had learned in the classroom, and practiced those skills in a real-world setting. It was because of Saha Global that I decided to continue my education and pursue my Master’s of Public Health. Now, I graduated in May from Boston University School of Public Health with my MPH! (And looking for employment!)

I am very passionate about the impact Saha Global has on the people of rural Ghana and the impact on the Field Reps who implement. I would love to talk with anyone who is interested in becoming a Global Field Rep, already accepted and gearing up for the trip, or just curious about the organization! Do not hesitate to contact me at lilly.prince.go@gmail.com. Also feel free to keep up with me here.

#Sahayili16 Reflections on the 2016 Summer Global Leadership Program

Posted on July 1, 2016July 1, 2016 by admin

It’s been just over a week since we said farewell to the 2016 Summer Field Reps. Thanks to this group of amazing individuals, Saha partnered with 15 communities in Northern Ghana to open 9 new water treatment businesses and 6 new solar charging businesses, which provide jobs to 27 new entrepreneurs. 3,288 people now have permanent access to safe drinking water and 2,232 people have access to reliable, clean solar electricity. Additionally, 16 of our water entrepreneurs have now been trained to run solar businesses, increasing their earning potential!

Abby, Adeel, Alexis, Aliyah, Angela, Anita, Anna, Annalise, Arielle, Ashley, Audrey, Ayodele, Bethany, Bill, Chelsea, Christina, Davis, Diana, Erin, Eugenia, Greg, Jack, Jen, Jhoanny, John F, John H, Jose, Julia C, Julia R, Kanaha, Kate, Kathryn, Kelsea, Kevonté, Kristen, Laura, Lauren, Lexie, Lorry, Lucy, Mcrid, Micah, Molly, Morgan, Olivia, Rachael, Ryan, Sam, Savannah, Shuoyang, Swapnil, Taylor, Tim, Vivian, Wivine, Yanshu and Yi,

We can’t believe that it’s been 10 days since we packed our bags and loaded up together for the last time – surprisingly on time and without technical difficulties, a real Tamale miracle! We are so grateful for the energies, talents and passions that you brought to Saha, which were essential to the opening of these new water and solar businesses. It is no exaggeration to say that because of you, thousands of people are living their lives with more opportunities for health and happiness. It was a pleasure to work with each and every one of you, and we are so lucky to continue to have you as members of the Saha Team! As head off to your next impactful endeavors, remember your community and Saha, and let us know what we can do to further your missions.

To quote Kpanshegu’s chief, as he related to Team Amin during their Chief Meeting, “There is currently a shift in the consciousness of the African culture to realize that they [the villagers] deserve it [clean water, electricity, education,etc.]. True knowledge is not knowing English or how to read or write, but rather it is the recognition of who you are and what you need to do; and if you explain that this [business] is theirs and that they need to work with you for it, that they will appreciate it and make it their own. And those who have knowledge and do not share it with others will be cursed by god whether they know it or not. It is your job with knowledge to pass it on to others and facilitate that change.”

With gratitude,

Amin, Brianán, Eda, Eric, Kathryn, Katie, Peter, Shak & Wahab

Bamvim - Anita, Jack, Yanshu, Laura — Jack, Yanshu, Anita and Laura in the community of Bamvim

Audrey, Taufik, Taylor, Micah and Anna in the community of Baayili

Dzorsah, Greg, Wivine, Jen and Abby in the community of Changbuni

Kathryn, Annalise, Simply, Molly and Aliyah in the community of Dawunyili

Mcrid, Arielle, Kanaha, Lexie and Nestor in Jukuku

Kelsea, Lucy, Bill, Sita and Diana in the community of Kanjeyili

Ayodele, Olivia, Lorry in the community of Komlanyili

Jhoanny, Adeel and Tim (missing: Shuoyang) in the community of Kpanshegu

Erin, Alexis, Peter, Swapnil and Julia in the community of Kpingiyili

Yi, Savannah, Eugenia and Chelsea in the community of Mahmuruyili

TJ, Angela, Jose & John in the community of Moya

Christina, Bethany, Sam, Julia and Sumaya in Sankunpe

Ashley, Lauren, Kate, Amina and John in Tantuani

Davis, Rachael, Vivian and Morgan in the community of Warivi

Rachel, Ryan, Kristen, Wahab and Kevonté in the community of Yapala

Field Rep Voices: Team Amina, Ashley, John H, Kate, and Lauren

Posted on June 22, 2016June 22, 2016 by admin

Ti diyan kala a konurium gbambilimaa?

Ashley and Lauren walk through Tantuani.

Two days ago we successfully opened a water treatment center in the village of Tantuani. After such an exciting day, we enter the last phase of implementation: monitoring. This is the beginning of weekly checks on the village to ensure that the water treatment center continues to run smoothly into the future. We returned to the village for random household checks just to ensure everyone was following the rules associated with the safe storage containers. In teams of two with our translator Amina by our side, we inspected eight households. Entering each household, we checked the safe storage containers to make sure they contained clean fresh water from the Polytank or rainwater taken directly from metal roofs. We thoroughly explained to members of each household the importance of keeping the safe storage containers clean and isolated in order to avoid recontamination of the water from other materials within the household. We made sure each household we visited understood the importance of drinking clean water rather than water from the dugout. They were able to clearly convey why this new water treatment center was beneficial to their health and the impacts it already has on their family members, especially the children. Many households we visited praised us for coming to their village and for implementing such a useful business. The best part of monitoring so far was seeing our samples from the households’ safe storage containers test negative for fecal contamination and e.coli. Keep it up Tantuani, we love you!

– Amina, Ashley, John H., Kate, and Lauren

Ashley checks a safe storage container while monitoring.

Lauren snaps a selfie with Tantuani's new entrepreneurs! — Lauren snaps a selfie with Tantuani’s new entrepreneurs!