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#sahydrated – Reflections on Saha’s Summer ’17 Program

It’s been just over a week since we said goodbye to the 2017 Summer Field Reps. Thanks to this group of talented, passionate and driven women and men, Saha was able to partner with with 10 communities in Northern Ghana to open 10 new water treatment businesses. Because of them, over 3,600 people now have the ability to drink clean water, daily. 28 women entrepreneurs are able to provide potable water to their friends, family and neighbors through  community-supported small businesses. And Saha is able to welcome 37 new faces to our global Saha family!

Alex, Alex, Alyssa, Amanda, Ashley, Brian, Caitlin, Cameron, Delaney, Dylan, Elias, Emma, Gaby, Harley, Henry, Ian, Jessica, Kate, Laura, Lexie, Lizzy, Lupita, Maya, Meagan, Nick, Rae, Raleigh, Sam, Solum, Sophia, Stew, Sydney, Taylor, Tshion, Zach, Zach, and Zijun:

It seems crazy to think that after three weeks of laughs, mosquito bites, blood/sweat/tears, games, guinea fowls, savannah sunsets, questioning and discoveries, we said goodbye for the last time as a group last week. We are so grateful for the excitement, enthusiasm, hard-work and positivity that you brought to team Saha. Because of you, thousands of people are living their lives with more opportunities for health and happiness. Due to your efforts and problem-solving, Saha was able to open

the MOST WATER BUSINESSES in our history!
It was such a pleasure to work with all of y’all, and we consider ourselves lucky to count you as part of Sahayili! As you head off to your next adventures, please don’t forget
Vene, Sahani, Gbunja, Darvoguyili, Kpachaa, Suri, Lambo, Larigbani, Tinkpanglanyili and Nakpanzoo 
and all of us here at Saha, and let us know what we can do to further your missions. 

With gratitude,

Amin, Eda, Eric, Kate, Kathryn, Morganne, Peter, Shak & Wahab

And now … for the jumping pics!

Team Cameron, Sita, Maya and Nick in Vene

Team Jessica, Gaby, Brian, Amin and Henry (not pictured) in Lambo

Team Kate, Blessing, Sophia, Tshion and Harley (not pictured) in Darvoguyili

Team Laura, Sam, Ian, Alyssa and Jaleel (not pictured) in Kpachaa

Team Nestor, Dylan, Rae and Lexie in Gbunja

Team Alex, Delaney, Lupita and Shak in Tingpangyili

Team Taylor, Ashley, Taufik, Lizzie and Stew in Nakpanzoo

Team Sydney, Elias, Raleigh, Wahab and Meaghan in Sahani

Team Simply, Zach, Caitlin, Solum and Emma in Larigbani

Team Zach, Zijun, Alex, Amanda and Peter in Suri

Field Rep Voices: Team Alyssa, Ian, Jaleel, Laura and Samantha

Our team is assigned to a village named Kpachaa (silent K!), which sits slightly elevated from the surrounding verdant landscape. It is a sizable community, with around 70 households, a mosque (with a resident imam), and a large school. On Monday, we built the water business center. We strapped the Polytank precariously to the top of our taxi and embarked upon an off-road excursion down to the dugout, courtesy of our soft-spoken taxi driver, Quiet Ali (who according to our translator, Jaleel, drives his car like a tank). Upon arrival, we set about the business of cleaning the enormous Polytank. Our vertically challenged teammate, Alyssa, was deemed fit for the task of entering the Polytank and scrubbing it down. She obliged, even though the inside of the tank was essentially a sauna. We put large sticks down on either side of the tank and held onto it to prevent her from rolling away like a hamster in a ball.

Alyssa in the belly of the beast, scrubbing away at the polytank

Next, we rinsed the tank out with alum-treated water from our large drums, creating a small stream from business to dugout.

The stream of drained water chasing one of our entrepreneurs, Amina, as she goes to fill her garawa
Asana well on her way to filling the second “blue” drum
Ayi caught in the background of the children’s photos as she transfers the alum-treated water to the polytank

Once completely drained, the entrepreneurs scooped the rest of the alum-treated water into the tank and added chlorine Aquatabs. The four of us field reps occupied the women’s children as their mothers filled the tank. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, amazed when they drew out hopscotch, as we believed we had taught them this game the day before. As it turns out, they’ve been playing this game long before we came in, though they call it aberkatchee (completely phonetic spelling). After playing several rounds, we attempted to teach them duck duck goose, which presented its own challenges in trying to teach a game without the aid of language. One bright little girl picked up on the concept of the game quickly, and was able to explain to the younger ones when to get up and run. Once they all began to understand the game, their excitement grew—a bit too much—and the game descended into chaotic jumping.
While we were occupied by the younger children, two of the older schoolboys took off with Alyssa’s phone, taking pictures of whatever they saw fit. This included loads of selfies, but also included some really incredible action shots, both of their mothers working, and of the children playing. All in all it was a memorable day for the four of us in Kpachaa, and we have wonderful documentation thanks to these two boys. Contact us if you’re in the market for a wedding photographer….

Three of the women’s daughters and their contagious energy