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Aint no party like a Solar Center party, cause a solar center party has ELECTRICITY!

With the women trained and the solar equipment in place, it was almost time to open our Solar Center. Before the big opening party could take place, we just needed to distribute the rechargeable lanterns to all of the households and add some finishing touches to the façade of our solar center.

When we had first arrived in the community we asked the village elders to provide us with a list of households in the village so we could have an exact count for lantern distribution. Each household is basically a small compound with about 6 or 7 separate huts all in an enclosed wall. Compounds consist of a man, his wives, and their children, and sometimes their elderly parents. We had been planning on approximately 60 households based on Ben’s water implementation in Wambong three year ago, so we decided to be prudent and order 75 lanterns for the village. When we finally received the new household list we realized that Wambong had grown to over 120 households, more than double what we had planned for. Luckily, when we went to pick up our shipment of lanterns the store had more than enough in stock. We were definitely relieved to know that we would have enough lanterns for everyone and excited and humbled by the idea that we would be providing access to electricity for over 1000 people. Providing solar power to different households is a tremendous task, especially when you need to begin from scratch. In the US, solar power is often coupled with traditional forms of energy and distributed through electricity providers. These providers create rates and plans, like 4change energy rates, making electricity more affordable for families. We often forget how fragile having electricity can be, so trying our best to provide electricity to a community is not only a tremendous feat, but also a necessary one.

Distributing lanterns was exhilarating. The town assemblyman had already gathered a large group in the town center in anticipation of our arrival and when we pulled up in our taxi they started making announcements via the Mosque loud speaker which is usually used to broadcast prayers. Before long we were surrounded by people and we felt

Sprucing up the Solar Center with the InnovaSun Logo!
Sprucing up the Solar Center with the InnovaSun Logo!

confident that we had representatives from all the households present. We took the opportunity to speak to the community at large about the solar center and how it important it was that the community work together to keep it safe. We discussed prices for charging, and taught them how to take care of the lanterns. Once we were confident that the community understood the importance of the center we began listing off household names and handing out lamps. The look of excitement and gratitude on people’s faces when they received their lantern had me grinning from ear to ear and just got me all the more excited for the opening party that night. Once all the lanterns were passed out, we returned our attention to the solar center and gave it a face-lift. Ben and I used what little artistic ability we had between us to give the building a paint job that Picasso would have been proud of.

With everything set and ready to go we headed back to the CWS office to catch a breather before the opening that night. We had decided to break from the CWS tradition of having an Opening “Day” and traded it for the first ever Opening “Night” hoping that the addition of lanterns and electricity to the village would make for a lively and well-lit party. So we set off around 6:30 with no idea what to expect, fingers crossed and holding our breath in anticipation.

Mark and Ben getting support from the CWS team in front of the Solar Panels
Mark and Ben getting support from the CWS team in front of the Solar Panels

We were anxious but quickly put at ease thanks to the support and company of the full CWS team including Brianan, Peter, Amin, Wahab, Eric, and of course Shak as they decided to come out and partake in InnovaSun’s first ever launch party.

As we pulled into the village we were mesmerized, the whole village had a soft glow to it, or as one our translators suggested, “the village is blinking!” From the center of every household a soft light was floating up into the pitch-black sky, we knew something was working. We headed toward the town center and made our way to the Solar Center, connecting several power strips to allow for mass charging, hitting the on switch, and officially declaring the center open for business! Slowly people started making their way toward the center, first in the dark, then with flashlights, and finally carrying the lanterns we had distributed that morning. What was a trickle quickly turned into a flood of people as the center was surrounded by people wanting to get a first hand look and start charging their electronics.

The solar center in action - all 48 sockets were quickly put to use.
The solar center in action – all 48 sockets were quickly put to use.

Within minutes all 48 sockets were in use and charging a combination of cell phone and lanterns. Salima and Chang Chang were rockstars, quickly connecting all the appliances, adding up the total watts being used to make sure the system wasn’t overloaded, and most importantly keeping their cool among hoards of people – something I was struggling with.

Mark and Ben surrounded by crowds of happy Wambong villagers!
Mark and Ben surrounded by crowds of happy Wambong villagers!

More and more people continued to materialize each face more excited than the last. Some were holding lanterns and some just basking in the glow of their neighbors. I felt elated and totally overwhelmed, trying to make sure the center was working (it was), that people were having fun (they were) and that we were getting awesome pictures (we did). The community was enthralled, asking for photos, passing around lanterns, and pushing to the front of the crowd to see the solar center in action. They even organized most of the community in the center of town for a group photo, an unheard of accomplishment that took 5 different translators to coordinate.

Group photo of the village with their new rechargeable lanterns!
Group photo of the village with their new rechargeable lanterns!

As if lights and cell phones weren’t enough it wasn’t long before a pair of massive speakers appeared and started blasting some serious club music. Don’t ask me how or why this village, which previously had no electricity, has speakers taller than I am (clocking in at 6’3) but Wambong was bumping.

Wambong boy using his new rechargeable lantern.
Wambong boy using his new rechargeable lantern.

I kept wondering if we were going to get a noise complaint from the neighbors and then quickly laughed at my own stupidity. Ben and I had been wondering this whole week how quickly people would start making the electricity their own and branching out from lanterns and phones, well once the speakers were plugged in, it wasn’t long before someone else was siphoning off electricity and had plugged in a black light above the “DJ” booth. Seriously I felt like I was in a New York nightclub.

After 3 hours of pure euphoria, we decided to start winding things down. We took a ton of photos, made sure the center was in good hands and locked up, and started to head out. The village spokesperson continued to thank us, praising God for our help. It was one of the most unbelievable nights.

Mark and Ben jumping for joy in front of the new Solar Center!
Mark and Ben jumping for joy in front of the new Solar Center!

Seeing all of our planning, preparation, and hard work pay off, seeing the joy on everyone’s face, feeling accomplished and successful, and realizing what an impact we had had on this community. Indescribable. Ben and I couldn’t sleep last night, because we were too wired (pun intended) and even this morning I’m having trouble comprehending the magnitude of the moment and what it even means to me. All I know is I can’t wait to get back to Wambong and see how it’s going. I feel like a parent after their last child has grown up and gone off to college – empty nest syndrome for sure. I’ll just have to be patient and wait till tomorrow when we begin monitoring. I’m sure there is still lots of work to do, but I’ll be enjoying this day for a long long time.

-Mark

Successful Opening Days!

With opening days taking place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week we can’t think of a better way to recap the excitement but with pictures from each of the teams!

The 7 new water treatment centers now serve clean drinking water to 3,664 people!! We are so lucky to work along side such amazing fellows!

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Carole Anne, Lilly & Taylor pose with the proud ladies of Kideng!
caroline and brigid
Caroline & Brigid pose with the excited kids of Kasawuripe!
Team Shak (Victoria, Eda, Jacob & Hailey) peacesigning with their lady entrepeneurs, Mary & Fushiena on their opening day in Vogyili
Victoria, Eda, Jacob & Hailey peacesigning with their lady entrepeneurs, Mary & Fushiena on their opening day in Vogyili
Team Sharifa (Katie, Lucas, Stephanie & Sandra) post with their women entrepenuers and some kiddos in front of Namdu's up and running water treatment center
Katie, Lucas, Stephanie & Sandra with their women entrepenuers and some kiddos in front of Namdu’s up and running water treatment center
Team TJ (Maxine, Casey, Jhanel & Bryan) pose with their grateful chief!
TJ, Maxine, Casey, Jhanel & Bryan with their oh-so-grateful Chief of Kpali!IMG_2556
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DSCN0219Kirsten, Sarah, Ethan, Angie & Nestor with the women as they fill their very first safe storage container of clean water in Gundaa

 

 

 

 

 

Voices from the Field: Team TJ (Bryan, Maxine, Jhanel & Casey)

Our Rising Tigers

Finally the day we and the villagers had been waiting for had arrived – our opening day! When we arrived at the dugout, six safe storage containers were already aligned in front of the Polytank in anticipation of getting clean drinking water. As the women arrived at the dugout to provide the drinking water, the numbers of buckets swelled from the initial six to close to forty. It was amazing to see the excitement the villagers had to finally have clean water despite the earliness of the day.

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The women in charge of the water treatment center immediately took charge.  They filled up a bucket with water to clean out all of the safe storage containers and put someone in charge to oversee cleaning. One sat at the station to collect the money and even moved some of the buckets out of the way, so that she wouldn’t fill up buckets for people who hadn’t paid yet. They then used the lids when transitioning buckets so no clean drinking water would go to waste. Once a new bucket was being filled, they would use the water in the lid to top off the bucket so each household had the most water possible in their safe storage container. One of the fellows even jokingly tried to get a bucket filled for free, and one of the woman in charge laughed at her and stuck her hand out, indicating she had to pay for a full bucket. The system was very efficient and we barely played a role in assisting them, allowing them to have full reign of their business.

Halfway through opening day, the chief and elders drove up in the chief’s Ford Pickup Truck. Many of the elders had already gotten their water and told us how tasty the water had been. The chief wanted to let us know he was leaving for Tamale to run errands, but wanted to see us before he left.  From the get-go, we had always had the support of the chief; he had gathered his community to hear about our project and even talked to a few of the villagers who didn’t show up to the community meeting to ask why they didn’t come. Once again, he was showing his support by letting us know everything was going well and thanking us for our role in bringing clean water to his village.

Maxine helping the ladies fetch water!
Maxine helping the ladies fetch water!

When we were about halfway through filling up all the buckets, the Polytank ran dry. The women immediately took charge, refilling the tank with the settled water from the blue drums, and then refilling the blue drums to treat them with alum. They told the remaining people waiting in line that they would be open later in the evening once the alum had settled the water, so the remaining buckets could be filled and everyone could have clean drinking water on opening day.

Before we left, four drummers came and we danced around while the villagers watched and laughed while joining us. Finally, we left to head back to Tamale, excited for our villagers and looking forward to the upcoming days.

CWS!
CWS!

CWS on the Road: Pilot in Tunga

I’m sure that you all have been on the edge of your seats since Kathryn’s last post about CWS’ expansion! To recap: After a scouting trip to Liberia, Burkina Faso, and Togo last summer, Kathryn and I decided that for CWS’ first satellite office, there was really no place like home and began to focus our search on other Regions in Ghana. Kathryn spent the fall traveling around this beautiful country to learn about the water needs in the Upper East, Upper West, and Volta Regions as well as exploring more remote areas of the Northern Region. After months of moto, tro, and market bus rides to both big cities and rural villages throughout Ghana, we decided that the small city of Salaga, a seemed like the best fit for our next base of operations!

The river in Tunga - the village's only source of drinking water.
The river in Tunga – the village’s only source of drinking water.

Once we had selected Salaga as our potential new base of operations, the next step was to pilot a CWS water business in a nearby village! While we were fairly confident that both our water treatment technique and our business model would work well in this area, this pilot was essential in figuring out our supply chain and transportation logistics. As many of our past Fellows know, transportation is a huge challenge here in Ghana!  With the very poor road conditions around Salaga, we knew that finding a reliable way to reach the rural villages would be difficult. As far as supplies go, Salaga is much, much smaller than Tamale with a very limited market. So, about 90% of our supplies will have to be shipped down from Tamale – a process that we knew little about. A few more trips around Salaga later, we picked the village of Tunga for our pilot.

Tunga, is a rural village of about 500 people located 40 minutes north of Salaga and right outside the larger town of Banjai. The only source of water in Tunga is a river, that is highly turbid and fecally contaminated. We met with the village chief and elders in early December and, after a great conversation, they agreed to work with us!

Our awesome building team after the first day of implementation: Kathryn, M'Azara, Peter, Mahamadu, Haruna, DJ Alhassan and me.
Our awesome building team after the first day of implementation: Kathryn, M’Azara, Peter, Mahamadu, Haruna, DJ Alhassan and me.

Both Kathryn and I had a blast working in Tunga over these past few weeks. I have not implemented a water business since we launched the Fellowship Program in June 2010 and Kathryn’s last implementation was when she was a Fellow almost 2 years ago! After some initial delays due to the election and some car trouble (typical!), the implementation process went very smoothly!

The finished polytank stand
The finished polytank stand

The people in Tunga were extremely welcoming and a joy to work with – A group of local guys were very helpful in building the polytank stand and provided endless entertainment as we worked in the hot sun; An enthusiastic team of kids helped carry our safe storage containers all over the village as we distributed them to each family; And the women entrepreneurs, Sana and Aya, are a force to be reckoned with!

We celebrated opening day on Sunday, December 16th and were very impressed with the turnout! Sana and Aya were completely in charge, leaving Kathryn and I with little to do besides take pictures!

Opening day in Tunga!
Opening day in Tunga!
Sana selling water like a pro!
Sana selling water like a pro!
Happy customers on their way home with full buckets of clean drinking water
Happy customers on their way home with full buckets of clean drinking water
Opening Day Success!
Opening Day Success!

So far, the pilot in Tunga has been a success! Stay tuned for more updates on CWS’ expansion plans!

-Kate

Voices from the Field: Team Tidan’s Opening Day!

Tindan safe storage containers lined up and ready to be filled with clean drinking water!
Tindan safe storage containers lined up and ready to be filled with clean drinking water!

Driving into the village this morning, we could tell there was a different atmosphere for opening day. All of the women and children, especially the girls, were dressed up in their best clothes. As word of our arrival spread through the village, people started to gather at the Polytank we had spent the last four days building with them. Although we don’t have a large village, we could still sense the gratitude and excitement of the day. All the women were smiling and quickly lined up to get their first batch of water. Even though we didn’t understand the language, we could tell that the women in charge of the business were prepared and did all the work without much help from us. It was definitely a day none of us will soon forget. Below are descriptions the most memorable part of the day from each of our team members:

Lubna, Jessie and Lauren hanging with some ladies
Lubna, Jessie and Lauren hanging with some ladies

Lubna’s significant moment was when she entered the village and noticed that all the women and girls had dressed up. For her, it signified that the water treatment system was valued by the community, and that it was a very special day.

For Jessie, it was noticing that everyone seemed to understand the importance of the small details. Her favorite moment was seeing one of the older women in the community motion that she would keep the lid on her safe storage container with a designated drinking cup on top to prove she knew what to do.

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Joe, Wahab, Jessie, Lubna, & Lauren all take a break after very succesful opening day!

Joe felt very excited on opening day knowing that Tindan officially had clean water. It was difficult seeing the community continue to drink dugout water during the installation and distribution process. It was relieving to finally see the community members utilizing the safe water source and knowing that this could significantly improve their health.

Lauren felt gratified knowing they helped the Tindan community get the clean water they so clearly desired. It took no convincing to gain approval from the community to install the system. Five days after approaching the chief, opening day was a great success! The way everyone lined up on time, and were so pleased with the taste indicated that the community could not wait to have a fresh water source.

New CWS Entrepreneurs, Arishtu & Daahiya
New CWS Entrepreneurs, Arishtu & Daahiya

-Lauren, Joe, Jessie & Lubna

 

Voices from the Field: Team 1

Greetings from Tamale, Ghana! We are team 1, also known as team sparkles and we are made up of Alex, Kelsey, Olivia, and Zoe. Along with our fearless translator Wahab, we are working in the village of Garazigou (though we have come to find out there are numerous spellings of this village which made for an interesting time) . It seems like our weeks are just flying by here even though here in Ghana, as one of our fellow teammates put it, “It’s a Ghana (gonna),”mainly because here everyone takes their sweet time getting from place to place! However, we sped through the building process of the base for the polytank and then began to train the women who are going to be running the center how to make the alum balls that would be stirred into the drums and how to than transfer that water to the polytank where the water is treated with chlorine.

One of the men in the village hard at work on the base!
Transferring the dugout water to the blue drums

After we had a very long day of distributing those well-known blue buckets, we waited in much anticipation for one of the most important days of the whole trip…OPENING DAY! And thankfully the day was a huge success! We had a great time entertaining the children while the mother’s filled the buckets with clean drinking water which were all accounted for! We also learned later in the week that a baby from our village was born on opening day. It’s a great feeling to know that this baby boy is going to be able to have safe drinking water for the rest of his life in the village!

The women of the village filling up with clean drinking water!

We are now focusing our sites on the last few days here in Tamale were we are beginning to monitor the people and make sure they are using the water correctly and getting everything else in order for the CWS staff to step in and take over.  We have been overwhelmed with the amount of responses we have gotten from the villagers. Many to thank us for bringing them clean water and helping their children stay healthy. It’s when you hear replies like that make all the hot weather and pure exhaustion so worth it in the end.

Though our time here in the village has come to an end, we look forward to hearing from the CWS staff all the progress our village has made in its implementation process.

From left: Olivia, Kelsey, Alex, Wahab, and Zoe in front of the CWS sign!

Voices from the Field: Team 6

Hello from Team Six and the Village of Gbandu!

On Monday, our team had our opening day on which we unveiled our newly-built water treatment center to the Village of Gbandu. In the week leading up to opening day our team worked with some of the villagers to build a permanent stand that was accessible to the people of the Village. We had trained two women, Mariama and Abiba, to treat and clean dugout water to make safe drinking water for all the villagers. On Sunday, we had distributed safe-storage containers to every household (the blue buckets you see in so many pictures) and talked to them about the center’s opening the next day.

Moriah, Kelsey, and Peter training the women.
Abiba and Mariama!

Our opening day got off to a slow start. Due to another group’s taxi driver being arrested that morning our driver, Husla, and our translator/ project manager, Peter, were running an hour and a half late. Perhaps because we were rushing, perhaps because Husla just wanted dinner, we ran over a Guinea Fowl on the road to our village. In the name of mercy (which Kelsey still contests), Husla and Peter grabbed Mark’s knife, jumped out of the car, and ran back to kill the Guinea Fowl. By the time Peter and Hulsa got back to the car, both Moriah and Kelsey were screaming at the top of their lungs—Kelsey about the immorality of roadkill, Moriah because she has a deathly fear of birds and did not want a dead one sitting on her lap. The rest of the ride our team debated about the rights of animals vs. children when it comes to being hit by a car.

Mark and Kelsey in the taxi pre-Guinea Fowl incident.

The animal deaths that day did not end there— our team decided it was a good idea to bring a goat as a gift to the village and commemorate the opening of our water treatment center. In Ghana, though there are hundreds of goats running around, the slaughtering and eating of goats are very rare. Villages will do it only once or twice a year. Watching the villagers prepare the meal was a unique experience. Everyone on our team was affected by the sad noises the goat was making as he was tethered to a tree. He sort of sounded like a waling child to be honest. When they went to kill the animal Mark insists the goat sounded like he was screaming for help. We could choose to think of the experience as horrifying, but for those of us who are not vegetarians we found it was important to see exactly where our meals come from. Also the event was such a treat for the villagers, it is almost hard to feel bad for the death of the goat.

So many people came out!!
Clean Water!!!!

The Ghanaians have some incredibly interesting techniques that make the most of the meat they are preparing. We looked over once and it seemed as though a villager was sucking the blood out of the goat’s leg, but he was actually blowing the goat up through an artery. By doing this, the meat of the goat would separate from the skin and could properly be prepared. When they finished cooking the meat they separated it into three portions, one very small portion was for our team, one was for the men, and one was for the women. The men had a feeding frenzy where the man holding the bowl was jumped on and the meat scattered everywhere. The women were more diplomatic in their distribution- Mariama and Abiba were in charge of handing out portions. Mark and Moriah took small pieces and gave the big ones to our translator and drivers.

Kelsey enjoyed dancing with the children!

All in all the day was a huge success. Children seemed to pop up out of nowhere and clung to the closest Salaminga (white person) and we danced and laughed all morning. The women were thrilled, the kids were entertained and the men…well the men were stoic. There was some live music, we listened to drums (Mark tried but he couldn’t seem to find the beat) and everyone was dancing. We ended up filling 24 buckets of water one for every household in the village! Seeing the women walking back to the village with their baby blue CWS buckets on their heads is an image none of us will forget.

Walking home with clean water!

Soon after, everyone seemed to get the memo saying it was Market time and the crowd cleared out. We cleaned up a bit, bid farewell to our women and headed home. We ended up stopping at Swad for a celebratory meal. Nothing says congratulations on opening a water treatment center like some authentic Chicken Curry! We went with another team and it was great to just sit back and bask in the pride we all shared for our villages.

All of us loved the children!
Moriah and Kelsey with the children

Following every team’s opening we rented a bus and drove four hours south to some waterfalls. It was really fun to finally be able to sit back, relax, and actually try to soak up some sun. The scenery was gorgeous! Yesterday we worked hard to monitor the households in our village, and found that many households understood the concept of keeping their buckets and cups clean. There are others that we have found still need a little work. We had a problem today with our stand, Mariama and Abiba had filled the Polytank without the water completing it’s twenty-four hour Alum process. The result was turbid water in the Polytank. Discovering this was frustrating, but it is exactly why we have a week here after opening day to look after our village. Now we will be able to tell households that need work certain things they can do to keep up cleanliness, and we can insure that the women know exactly what they are doing when they treat the water.

Over all Team Six has been having a wonderful experience together and cannot wait to get back to Gbandu tomorrow!!

-Mark, Kelsey, and Moriah

Our awesome team!

Success in Sakpalua

We arrived to our village around 9 am on opening day. Not many of the villagers were near the center when we first got there, but after the sight of our truck they began to show up in large numbers bearing their blue buckets. Lydia and Damu had the center well put together for opening day and things went off without a hitch. As people gathered in line we passed around a small bucket so that everyone could have a taste. The water was perfect and everyone was very eager to get their water home to their household. After 2 ½ hours we had filled all but three of the 59 buckets that we had distributed and called it a day. It was amazing to see how quickly the facility was able to get up and running, as well as how efficiently it was able to supply more than a village’s worth of clean water.

Treatment Center in Sakpalua
Treatment Center in Sakpalua

After such a successful opening day, we took the day off on Tuesday. Shak drove Rich, Colleen, and Chelsea to Kintampo Waterfalls for some much needed R&R. Nick, unfortunately, could not join us because he was sick, but we all had a great time!

After our day off, it was time to get back to work. We got a late start due to some technical difficulties with Shak’s truck, but made it to Sakpalua around noon to begin monitoring. We checked 21 households in all. Everything looked great. Every household we checked, with the exception of one, had adhered to the rule of keeping the storage container 6 inches off of the ground and all had used their container only for clean water. We were all incredibly pleased to see that going household to household to distribute buckets and explain to each villager how to properly use their safety storage container properly had truly paid off. Only 3 more days of spending time with the lovely villagers of Sakpalua and monitoring before we hitch a bus back to Accra. My how the time has flown.

Voices from the Field: Team G

Team G here (Katie, Caitlin, and Brittany)! Two days ago we opened our water business in Kagburashe, which was very exciting. We got to our village around 7am and upon arriving to the dugout, were very pleased to see a number of CWS safe storage containers already lined up by the polytank, ready to get filled up with clean water. With the help of several villagers, including the children, we developed an orderly and quick distribution system. Our translator, Mohammed, helped the ladies fill up the buckets while Brittany kept track of which had been filled and paid for. Katie and Caitlin played with the children and helped the women in line. In about two hours we filled 43 buckets and several children’s water bottles (who gave the water rave reviews, by the way)! Since our village is comprised of about 46 households, we were thrilled that almost everyone came out for opening day!

Caitlin with the women who run the CWS water business in Kagburasche

Here are the two women who run the water business in Kagburashe. They were chosen by the Chief and elders and will be in charge of maintaining the water business after Team G returns home. It was amazing to see these women in action; they quickly learned the water treatment process (first using alum as a coagulant and then chlorine as a disinfectant), and how to keep track of sales. We have full confidence in their ability to run the business and are excited that they will be making a small profit in addition to providing their village with clean drinking water.

Brittany and Katie with our taxi driver, Hamza

It was awesome to see the bright blue, green, and purple CWS buckets sitting on the heads of our village women and girls instead of the dirty metal ones they usually use for water. So bright and clean, reflecting the healthy water that now sits inside. Everyone was so happy to see the clear water flowing out of the polytank spicket. We hope that the villagers continue to take care of this water and take care of themselves. At the end of the day our translator took us to his home, where his mother prepared a celebration meal of Fufu—a traditional Ghanaian meal consisting of beaten down yams and a spicy tomato sauce. Katie and Brittany even tried some fried rat! What a day for new things all around!!

-Caitlin, Katie and Britany

Voices from the Field: Team H

YAPALSI!

Yesterday was OPENING DAY in Yapalsi! After a week of arduous work setting up the facility and distributing safe storage containers, we finally got to see our work pay off. It was fulfilling to watch our women—Sinatu and Irisyatu—becoming supreme rulers of the center. Throughout the day, we heard our women discussing with the other villagers about how the center will operate which made us feel jubilant. All the women in the village showed up to collect water for their families including the Fulani people from outside the village, which we weren’t expecting. In fact, so many people showed up that the center ran out of clean water before everyone’s buckets were filled. Luckily, our women were on top of the problem and were refilling the blue drums with new water to be treated before we left. Towards the end of the day, the chief came out to express his appreciation for all of our work. He loved it so much that he bought 4 extra buckets for his family, and many other families followed suit. Finally, we took pictures to commemorate the event. All in all the day was a success in epitomizing the goals of CWS and we look forward to monitoring and witnessing the growth and development of the village!

-Team Hawesome (Tim, Janna, Boyd and Caitlin)