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Updates From Our Newest Communities

Hello hello! Morganne and Eda here, sending a report straight from Tamale!

Monitoring has been busy since the end of our Winter Global Leadership Program (shout out to our #sahappytobehere crew!). As you might know, we opened our 100th water business in January, which means 100 villages to get out to and check up on! Here’s the latest from the first 2 months in our newest communities:

 

Village Full-time Monitor How’s it going? Center Status Household Visits Lab Samples
Defisa Amin, he visited on March 31st Jahama and Lukaya said sales are going well, however the dugout is very turbid so they have to use more alum to make sure the water is clean! Polytank is ½ full and the 3 “Blue” Drums were empty 5 out of 6 households had water in their safe storage containers The Polytank sample came out clear!
Juni Wahab, he visited on March 27th The dugout has dried because the rainy season hasn’t started yet. Wahab spoke to Jamila who said sales were going well and the women are ready to treat water as soon as the rains come! PT Empty and 3 “Blue” Drums empty No household visits because the dugout is dry No lab samples were taken this visit.  The polytank was sampled earlier this month and came out clean!
Kpumi Peter, but Shak visited on March 29th while Peter monitored our Salaga communities The water is getting very turbid but sales are still going well! Polytank is more than half full and the 3 “Blue” Drums were empty 4 out of 6 households had water in their safe storage containers No samples were taken this visit. The polytank was sampled earlier this month and came out clean!
Labariga Peter, but Shak visited on March 29th while Peter monitored our Salaga communities Fusheina said sales are going well and they treated water yesterday afternoon! Polytank is more than half full and the 3 “Blue” Drums are empty 4 out of 6 households had water in their safe storage containers No samples were taken this visit. The polytank was sampled earlier this month and came out clean!
Parishenaaya Wahab, he visited on March 30th Salamatu said some farming families have returned to Parishenaaya so sales have picked up a bit! Polytank is more than half full, 3 “Blue” Drums are empty 5 out of 6 households had water in their safe storage containers No samples were taken this visit. The polytank was sampled earlier this month and came out clean!
Tuya Wahab, he visited on March 30th Mohammed, who helps with the center when the women travel, said sales are going well and that the recent rains increased the water level in the stream! Polytank is more than half full, and 3 “Blue” Drums are full but don’t have alum yet 6 out of 6 households had water in their safe storage containers, YAHOO! No samples were taken this visit. The polytank was sampled earlier this month and came out clean!
Zuro Peter, but Shak visited on March 29th while Peter monitored our Salaga communities Abiba said everything is going well! Polytank is ¼ full, and 3 “Blue” Drums are empty 3 out of 6 households had water in their safe storage containers The polytank sample came out clean!

 

 

 

Peter monitors Kpumi’s water center

And our newest solar businesses:

Village Full-time Monitor How’s it going? Center Status Household Visits
Chihigu Peter, but Eric visited on March 28th while Peter monitored our Salaga communities Hawabu said everything is going well! There were 8 phones and 6 batteries charging at the center All 6 households had working and fully charged lanterns, yay!
Jagberin Wahab, he visited on March 27th Ramatu said sales are going well but some farming families have left because their dugout has become very turbid. As soon as the water level increases these families will be back and increase solar sales! There were 15 phones and 8 batteries charging at the center All 6 households had working and fully charged lanterns, wahoo!

 

Eric takes a selfie while monitoring in Chihigu

 

Special thanks to our Winter 2017 Field Reps who got these 9 communities off to a great start! Ti paya pahm!

#sahappy2behere – Reflections on the 2017 Winter Global Leadership Program

It’s crazy to think that less than a week ago we were saying farewell to the 2017 Winter Field Reps. Thanks to this group of awesome, driven individuals, Saha was able to partner with with 9 communities in Northern Ghana to open 7 new water treatment businesses and 2 new solar charging businesses, which provide jobs to 21 new entrepreneurs. 1,664 people now have permanent access to safe drinking water and 752 people have access to reliable, clean solar electricity. Additionally, 5 of our water entrepreneurs have now been trained to run solar businesses, increasing their earning potential!

Alex C, Alex K, Ann, Becky, Caleb, Caroline, Celine, Elijah, Erin, Joanne, Kalin, Kevin, Laura, Lexie, Louis, Matt, Maureen, Micah, Mona-Mae, Morgan, Nikita, Olivia, Qingyi, Sarah, Shaminika, Shane, Shanelle, Shannon, Terynek, Tess, Walker, Wyatt, Yu and Zulean,

We can’t believe that just under a week ago, we packed our bags and loaded up in front of GILLBT for the last time! 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. 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 impactful adventures, please don’t forget your community and all of us here at Saha, and let us know what we can do to further your missions. 

With gratitude,

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

And now … for the jumping pics!

Eric, Iddrisu, Erin, Qingyi, Sarah and Shane in Chihigu

 

Elijah, Kalin, Ann and Wahab in Defisa

 

Wyatt, Caleb, Joanne, Shanelle and Shak in Jagberin

 

Celine, Laura, Olivia, Matt, and Nestor in Juni

 

Terynek, Micah, Shannon and Becky in Labariga

 

Morganne, Mona, Simply and Alex in Kpumi

 

Walker, Shamanika, Sita, Lexie and Tess (not shown) in Parishenaaya

 

Louis, Alex, Caroline and Maureen in Tuya

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

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

 

Shannon finds a new pet?

 

Becky discusses the proposed water business with Lagbariga

 

The painted polytank stand!

 

Terynek makes a new friend