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Field Rep Voices – Team Swapnil, Erin, Julia, Alexis and Peter

Posted on June 21, 2016 by communitywatersolutions

Team Peter here reporting with an adventure in Ghana Time! We joke all the time that no day would be complete for our team without some sort of mishap to throw off our schedule, and today was no different. After previous baboon attacks, dumping contaminated water on our driver, and some stomach ulcers, today we have a car problem that blew all of our previous flat tires out of the water (pun intended).

We were on our way to the village after early morning mass and mosque for some team members when we woke from our naps to our normally calm translator screaming at us to get out of the car! We ran out so quickly that Julia forgot her shoes, but we all made it safely out…at this point, we could all smell the engine more or less burning. Apparently the wires had literally melted. Luckily, after a few minutes (during which time Swap and Iddrisu started working out at the side of the road), our fantastic program directors had made a bunch of calls and per usual fixed the problem with a new driver.

…until that driver also got a flat tire. Go figure.

So, eventually, we made it back to our guesthouse, where we were in time for lunch (woo!). Julia is in love with jollof rice, and if you ever make it to Ghana, you have to try some.

FINALLY (after searching for the ever elusive Swap for like 20 minutes) we made it to the village with a new taxi. There, we got to do some monitoring of the water business we had just set up. We are so proud to be working with Sahada, Zenabu, and Miriam, and it was so exciting to see the community support them as well! Although there were a few hiccups with the households we monitored, it was good to meet face to face to deal with the problems directly. Two people were trying to find a time to fill their buckets, one did not understand that the water should be accessible to everyone in the household and locked it up, and one person had (ugh) tricked us into giving him a second bucket. Luckily, we were able to address all these problems, and we look forward to seeing even greater health for the village of Kpingyili in the future!

Anyway, our normal taxi is back from the shop – we were missing Iddrisu! Wish us luck on our last day at the village. We are so honored to have been a part of the Global Leadership Program, and can’t believe it’s almost over. See you soon USA and Brazil!

Field Rep Voices – Team Molly, Annalise, Aliyah, Kathryn and Simply

Posted on June 20, 2016 by communitywatersolutions

Opening Day is arguably the most exciting day for the village during the process of starting the water business. It is the first day that the community can purchase clean water. While driving through large puddles on the way to our village, we all were thinking that, because of the rain, the community of Dawunyili may have decided to collect rain water with their buckets instead of coming to the water center. As we pulled up to the village, we found we were alone with a bunch of goats.

Just as we started to get a little nervous that no one would come, we saw a blue bucket in the distance, balanced on the head of one of the women. One by one more women and children came with the safe water storage containers and before we knew it, Opening Day had started! The women entrepreneurs had everything in control. Gurimpaga and Abiba were washing each safe storage container while Amama filled the 20 Liters full of clean water and kept track of how many people bought water. While the women were effectively running the business, Team Simply fixed leaky taps and sat back to watch as each bucket was filled.

By the end of the morning, we lost count of how many buckets were filled since we were caught up in the moment. Thankfully, Amama kept a tally of the people and we were thrilled to count the totals and realize that every single household from the village and the Fulaani came to get clean drinking water! Team Simply was “killing the game” (a common phrase used by the best team leader, Simply).

We have heard stories of gifts given to Saha Global on Opening Day, but when we saw that all of the community had filled the water containers, we realized how the community felt about getting access to clean water. Opening Day in Dawunyili village encompassed our daily interactions with the people in this community. It was perfect. Everything went well and the experience was fun, laid back, and overall joyful. Throughout the morning, we recognized that the village was excited to incorporate the water center into their lives.

Team Simply is excited to return to the village to monitor after a day off. In addition, we are excited to work with the younger kids and educate them about the importance of keeping the water clean in their homes. It will be hard to leave this amazing community, but we know we have made amazing new friends that we will never forget.

Field Rep Voices: Olivia, Ayodele, Eric & Lorry

Posted on June 20, 2016 by admin

After the solar project was implemented, Team Eric began monitoring the business and individual households to see the community’s response to our project and make sure that everything’s running smoothly.

Since the project is mainly finished, we were finally able to get some of that beauty sleep back and wake up a bit later, at 7 o’clock, in the morning. After a long drive to the village, we first checked out our village’s dugout and the polytank there to make sure that the previously implemented water project is working successfully to provide clean water to the village. Komlan Yili’s dugout is actually a stream that is a long walk from the village. The water levels rise later in the rainy season, so the villagers have built a bridge that people can use to cross over the stream during these times of the year to reach villages further down the road. The wood for the bridge is replaced every year to ensure that it is safe to walk on. Still, it’s pretty scary and super uneven. It’s one of the many quirky and amazing things about Komlan Yili.

After checking on the polytank and finding no problems, we met with Safiatu and Nina, the water and solar entrepreneurs to discuss how the solar business is going since opening night and to hear about any water business updates. Everything is going well and it is clear that the business is in great hands.

Next, we visited nine households to ask about their lanterns and safe storage water containers. We learned that one woman had already gone back to the charging station even though her batteries were still charged, just for fun! It was great talking to women in each of the households and hearing all of the ways they were already using their lanterns at night (cooking, the kids doing homework, and processing shea nuts). It was amazing to see how much we had already been able to impact these people’s lives.

At the end of the day, Safiatu took us to her household for a good ending to our day. Our translator, Eric, has been looking for a pet kitten and Safiatu had three baby kittens! They were all so cute, Eric is going to buy two now instead of one.

Monitoring has been a great part of this experience, because now that most of our work is done, we can see how these businesses are impacting people’s lives. It is also a great opportunity to just talk to people on a more individual level and learn about their daily lives. We are definitely not ready to leave Tamale yet, but it is good to know that the business that we helped to create will continue after we leave.

– Team Eric

Field Rep Voices: Angela, TJ, John and Jose

Posted on June 20, 2016June 20, 2016 by admin

Opening Night…

The car that’s been coming to our village the last few weeks showed up again today, for the first time at nightfall. The 3 salamingas that have been building the solar center jumped out of their wheel machine smelling like water instead of their typical smells of dirt and sweat. They also wore nicer clothing and seemed prepared for some sort of celebration. Little did I know I was in for a surprise…

The three met with Fatima, Fatimata, and Hamshowu; the owners of me and my goat family. During the last two weeks I’ve heard them talking about how excited they are about running what they call a “solar business.” I’m not sure what that is, but they mentioned how they will finally be able to see and do work at night. The group gathered in the structure they built next to those shiny panels aimed at the sun. Shortly after, the rest of the villagers made their way from prayers towards this building each with a gadget in their hand.

P1010546 — Fatima, Fatimata, and Hamshowu

The sun was completely gone and had been for a while now. I was hungry so I decided to do some grazing. And then it happened… I’ll never forget it. The boy Mohamed lifted his gadget and a beautiful white light lit up his face! It was unlike anything I had ever seen! Then there was another light, and another! One-by-one these gadgets lit up the sky. My owners, the villagers, the 3 salamingas, all of them started dancing and laughing. All of the sudden my owner walked towards me, like he was choosing me for some special purpose. He put a rope around me and started bringing me towards all the fun. I must admit I was pretty scared. It’s a great honor to be selected by your master.

Silence fell as he brought me into the center of the group and handed my rope to TJ. “Yo TJ!” He brought our village clean water the last time he was here. He’s a good guy. I thought we might just be hanging out together, but then TJ and one of the salamingas lifted me into the back of their wheel machine.

And so here I am, telling you this story because, well… it’s been the wildest day of my life. My new owners have even given me a name, Minga! I’ve never been in a wheel machine before, let alone one with these three who now smell like sweat and dirt instead of like water. The village is all that I know, I’m not sure if I’ll see it again. I want to remember it. So I’m sharing my story with you now. Why wait? Life is short.

Singing off,
Minga the goat
Adventurer and Narrator
Formerly of the village of Moya

Field Rep Voices: Team Adeel, Amin, Shuoyang & Jhoanny

Posted on June 19, 2016June 19, 2016 by admin

A day in the life of team Amin…
Tuesday June 14

Today we realized we could use more organization and communication in our group. We had a short day yesterday we were suppose to ground and install the panels on the poles but we made the mistake of not picking the things we needed yesterday before going to the village. So today we are doing all this shopping for all the things we need like rubbing alcohol and sales books. We are also picking up the solar panel poles from the welder and we are buying more paint and other things we need. We also picked up our lanterns. This day taught us more than anything that every mistake is a lesson learned rather than a step back in our timeline for opening night. We are definitely on a tighter schedule but at the end we predict success and we have a great feeling of empowering our village which is the most important thing. It’s not about how fast we get there, it’s about the journey!

Tim discusses the solar business with a household

The solar entrepreneurs by the center in Kpanshegu

Field Rep Voices: Team Alberta, Chelsea, Eugenia, Savannah, and Yi

Posted on June 17, 2016June 17, 2016 by admin

Our team arrived late afternoon at 4:00pm in Mahamuyili for the celebration of the opening day of the water treatment center. We headed to the dugout along with the people from the village. The water center had a successful turnout; all 25 households attended opening day (almost at the same time) turning the opening into a lively event. Everyone was very eager to have their turn at the Polytank to fill their containers. The two women elected to run the water business, Fatimah and Hawa, opened the center up for business and quickly got to work taking money and filling containers.

Within moments of getting started a container was about to overflow so one woman caught all of the extra in her container lid and proceeded to chug the entire amount of water. A loud “BURPPP” leaped out from her and the crowd all reacted with laughter and excitement. Three containers in, we started to have some customers who had leaky taps and after this first one it seemed that every container after it also had a leak. Our team arranged an assembly line to adjust any leaky or faulty taps and successfully fixed each and every one.

To celebrate opening day, we brought bubbles and candy to share with the children. It quickly turned chaotic with Savannah and Chelsea nearly being tackled to the ground by a swarm of very excited children (including the men and women of the village). Music filled the air the entire duration, keeping the atmosphere fun and lively with dancing and many tickling attacks. We finished opening day with a sunset walk back to Mahamuyili with music and our two women entrepreneurs.

The team and new entrepreneurs pose at the water center.

Savannah walks back from the dugout and water center after a successful opening day with Mahamuyili community members.

Mahamuyili water treatment center group selfie!

– Savannah, Yi, Chelsea, Eugenia, and Alberta

Field Rep Voices: Team Laura, Jack, Yanshu, Sherifa and Anita

Posted on June 15, 2016 by admin

Yesterday, Team Sherifa returned from Bamvim where we spent the day working with our three entrepreneurs on installing the solar system. This included mounting the two solar panels to custom built metal poles, stringing the wires throughout the center and grounding the entire system with a copper pole and mixture of charcoal, salt and water. Our installation was a great success! We were able to charge Laura’s iPhone (for a fee of 50 peswas.) We discussed and finalized the prices for charging batteries (30 peswas) and cellphones (50 peswas.) Today, we painted the wood on the exterior of the solar center blue, at the request of our entrepreneurs. Anita and Laura went over the process for cleaning the solar panels and how to properly care for the genset.

Yanshu considered the solar panels and his handbook

This included reminding the women to always turn off the system at night, unplug all powerstrips and chargers and being sure to not overload the system with too many chargers. Meanwhile, Jack and Yanshu walked around and began to distribute lanterns to families. Our village consists of 25 households, each with roughly eight members. Every household is receiving a lantern at the cost of one Ghana Cedi. Today, we were able to give out seven lanterns and hope to finish distributing the other 18 tomorrow! We will also review the process of charging and installing the batteries for the lanterns with our entrepreneurs. We are hoping our day will go smoothly, and that we won’t get another flat tire!

Bamvim's new solar entrepreneurs hook up the system! — Bamvim’s new solar entrepreneurs hook up the system!

– Anita, Sherifa, Yanshu, Jack and Laura

Field Rep Voices – Team Arielle, Lexie, Kanaha, Mcrid, and Nestor

Posted on June 14, 2016 by communitywatersolutions

Having been in Ghana for two weeks now, all of the new water and solar businesses are well under way. Generally, all of the field reps seem super excited, willing to learn and adapt, and grateful to be a part of such a rewarding experience. Despite continuous trouble-shooting and two team members falling ill and missing a day in the village, Team Nestor’s water project in the village of Jukuku will open Wednesday, June 15th. We have spent the last week building the water treatment center, training the women in how to use alum and chlorine as well as managing money, and distributing safe storage containers. Teaching the treatment process and the money management is one of the most vital components of the entire implementation process, but also one of the most rewarding as we see the women truly begin to take full ownership of their business.

Our next steps are to finish distribution, educate, and monitor following opening day. As we are near opening day it is incredible to see the whole village rally around the women, whether its them having heard of our work before we meet them or just being super willing to take part because they understand the importance of clean water. Being the largest of the water businesses during this Global Leadership Program session, we have had a load of long and hard days, but we also have had fun and enlightening days. At the end of it, we realize that our work with Saha Global is something we chose not because we thought it would be easy, but because it matters.

Field Rep Voices: Team Diana, Bill, Kelsea, Lucy, and Sita

Posted on June 14, 2016 by admin

Starting a safe drinking water treatment center in Kanjeyili has been a community effort through and through. Kanjeyili’s community elected women entrepreneurs Aisha, Aishatu, Awau and Mayama are eagerly learning and getting involved in every aspect of the center from water treatment to managing the business. They are supported by other community members who help in whatever way they can and enthusiastically take ownership of the benefits of the center for their village. Kanjeyili’s successful treatment center depends on both the entrepreneurs and the community’s support and understanding of the business.

Kanjeyili’s women entrepreneurs quickly took the reins of the treatment process. We demonstrated how to use the alum to clear sediment from the water and they took a hands-on approach to trying the process themselves. By day two of training, they didn’t hesitate to fill the blue drums with dugout water and started treating it with alum right away. Alum treatment is an overnight process and they understand how important it is to the business to have water ready to treat and serve. Again, the community came out to support this process by carrying the heavy drums of water and helping form a six-month supply of alum balls. Having completed the first step of the process, the entrepreneurs moved on to disinfection.

Having successfully cleared the first batch of water with alum, the women entrepreneurs began scooping the water into the Polytank.* The Polytank disinfection step is the last in ensuring all E.Coli is removed from the water and is safe to drink. The community knew their dugout was making them sick, but showing them the results of the lab tests drove home the importance of the safe water center. The women entrepreneur’s primary responsibility is to continue the operation of the treatment center. Although they were apprehensive about charging a small fee for the water, both entrepreneurs and community came to understand the fee ensured the longevity of the safe water center. The women entrepreneurs keep in mind the price of filling a household’s safe storage container must be affordable for the entire village. This way, the entrepreneurs can provide an important service for the community, and in turn, the community drives the profitability and continuity of the business.

Kanjeyili’s safe water treatment center will continue to be successful because the community both needs and supports its service. Their entrepreneurs are highly competent and efficient at both water treatment and management because they dove into all aspects of the process. The community is helping with every step along the way, whether lending a hand to paint or carrying water to treat. This shared sense of ownership puts Kanjeyili on the road to better health and the success of their water treatment center.

*Polytank: Large drum with a tap commonly found in Ghana to store drinking water.

Lucy helps train their entrepreneurs about alum, the first step of the water treatment process.

One of the new entrepreneurs from Kanjeyili fills a blue drum to get ready for alum treatment.

Field Rep Voices: Team Rachael, Davis, Jaleel, Morgan and Vivian

Posted on June 13, 2016 by admin

Attempting to fix a broken down car in the middle of a dirt road miles into the African bush was not the ideal start to the first day traveling to the community that team Jaleel would be working in; but for the team it was not at all surprising. Both before the program and during orientation we were told that whatever can go wrong will and that statement has definitely been true. In our case that would mostly entail car troubles. These troubles have ranged from the random necessary push start to having a fan belt gear literally fall out of the car. These car issues may sound bad but they have helped the team bond and realize how ridiculous some of the situations which have been encountered are. In these situations all we have been able to do is laugh about it and know that what we need to accomplish that day will still get done.

In the case of the car breaking down on the way to visit the community of Warivi for the first time everything turned out for the best and into one of the team’s, Davis, Morgan, Rachael, and Vivian, most memorable life experiences.

Team Jaleel poses on top of Giddipass for their scavenger hunt

We were given the amazing opportunity to meet with the village chief and a few of the elders to explain that we would like to work in their village for the next few weeks to help implement a sustainable solar charging business. The reactions and gratitude that were exhibited by the chief, elders, and community really left a lasting impact on all of the members of the team. The days following the meeting have been amazing, both in seeing how the community functions in daily routines and in how they have rallied together to help implement the solar center.

Davis, Morgan pose with their carpenter!

– Davis, Jaleel, Morgan, Rachael and Vivian