Two weeks ago, Kate & I returned home after an incredible scouting trip to Nicaragua & Peru. After months of research stateside it was so exciting to finally see how statistics matched up to the reality of water and electricity access in rural communities.
We had a fantastic trip and were impressed by the enthusiastic reception of each and every person we met along the way. Once we announce our chosen expansion country at the Benefit (in just ONE MORE WEEK) we will give you all the details of how we came to our decision. Until then, check out these pictures recapping our adventure!
And we’re off! Next stop Peru!
After a 2 hour flight from Lima to Pucallpa, Kate & I were off up the river for 6 hours to a small community with a big name, called Santa Rosa Tamaya Tipishca
Long journeys aren’t so bad when there’s a hammock involved.
The vast Amazon River! And this was the dry season, so the water level is at its lowest.
Alum, in its natural form. In Santa Rosa there was a UNICEF project where they were given chlorine and alum to treat the river water within their own home.
Here is typical home in the Ucalyali Region.Kate & I stayed the night in this community and watched the sunset with some of the community kiddos.An eco-sanitation project in the commmunity. There was one for each household.Our sleeping quarters for the evening.Boots on and ready to trek.
Our boat back down the river, a bit smaller and with no shade and no hammock. It was hot journey back down to Pucallpa!Next city we visited was Iquitos. It was 2 hour flight from Pucallpa to Iquitos. Here we are with our translator and area expert Jose as we head out on another 6 hour journey to check out more rural communities in the area.A local hand-dug well in the community of Puerto Miguel.In many communities they use these kerosene lanterns as their source of light at night.After 6 hours on the river, we are off on a hour-long hike thru the Amazon to a small community called Nuevo Jerusalem.This is Bana! Can you even handle the cheeks on this little cutie?Here is just one of the many people we had the opportunity to speak with on our journey. Her name is Chachita and she is from Piyarote.Closing out a successful trip through Peru. Now off to Nicaragua!Off on this small plane for a short 45 minute ride from Managua to Puerto Cabezas, located on the East Coast of the country!After an awesome meeting with some great contacts in Puerto Cabezas we were determined to get to small town called Waspam, located 4 hours north and on the Coco River, which is a river that borders Honduras.Reminds us of Ghana.And so does this!Our amazing translators! In the communities around Waspam, people speak Miskito. These guys were a tremendous help.A household in the community of Kiwastara.Louis Jackson, the Heffe of Andres, was extremely helpful as we tried to learn more about their source of electricity and water.We could get used to this boat thing!
This Sunday, Executive Director, Kate Clopeck, and Director of Operations, Sam Reilley, are packing up and heading out on a 14 day scouting trip to Nicaragua and Peru!
We have been researching these areas since February and are extremely excited to finally travel to the remote communities in these three regions to see which would be the best fit for the work that we do. We will start our two-week journey in Peru where will visit the area surrounding Pulcallpa and Iquitos. Next we will fly to Nicaragua where we will spend most of our time in the Northeast corner of the country to visit the area surrounding Puerto Cabezas.
The goal of this trip is to meet with potential partners and figure out if the need for drinking water and electricity in these rural areas is a good match for Saha’s community-level solution. We will sit down with community leaders in rural communities to identify things like their current sources of water and electricity (if any), the community structure, gender relations, the local economy/market, etc. We will also be meeting with a number of organizations who have been working in these regions for years. Hopefully these new partners will help us gain an understanding of what living and working in the area is like, since we will only be in each location for a few days.
From the jungle of the Amazon River to the Northeastern coast of Nicaragua we are sure to have quite the adventure! Check back next week for updates from our trip!
Brianán talks to water business owner Ma’Fulera about center sales in Kalinka.
My sophomore year at Boston College I read “Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus,” a book about how Yunus founded Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. A bank that gives loans to poor people, predominantly women, to enable people to be their own change-makers. I read this book and thought this is what I want to do with my life. I want to work in microfinance.
About a year later, I went to an information session about the Saha Global Leadership Program. I was enthralled. The Saha model was similar to microfinance in that the micro-capital for a business is donated to women. But the Saha model seemed to go beyond just the money. Setting up a water business would bring a village clean water. I knew I had to be apart of this!
That winter 2011-2012, I traveled to Tamale, Ghana and implemented a water business in Kpachiyili. I was most impacted by working with Mariama and Azara, the two women who were elected to run the business. They live hard lives but are still resilient. My biggest take-away from the program was not to underestimate people. People can be their own change-makers.
In June 2012, I moved to Tamale, Ghana to work as the Ghana Country Director with Saha Global. I lived and worked in Ghana with Saha Global until August 2014. My most memorable day in Ghana was my third day on the job. I was out on the “motos” with Wahab monitoring the Tolon district Saha communities. We were caught in this massive, end of the world rainstorm. The streets of Tamale were flooded. We had to take shelter from the rain for several hours. We were so cold! Hot tea never tasted so sweet. I will never forget that day.
After living in Ghana and spending time with the Saha women business owners, I knew that I wanted to continue to work with women. I wanted to learn more about public health in low and middle-income countries. Time and time again the Saha staff and I witnessed and experienced health challenges such as lack of transport, high costs, lack of training, accessibility, lack of human resources, lack of supplies. The list goes on. I wanted to learn more about what is being done and what can be done to strengthen health systems in low and middle-income countries.
I am currently living in Dublin, Ireland where I am getting my Masters in Global Health at the Center for Global Health at Trinity College. Upon graduation, I hope to continue my career in project management within the global health sector.
Want to learn more about Brianan’s experience or have any specific questions? Feel free to email her at brianankiernan@gmail.com Also take a look at what she’s up to now!
We can’t believe that it was just a little over a week ago that we were sitting at the top of Giddipass cheers-ing all your hard work, closing the 2015 Summer Global Leadership Program with an epic dance circle.
YOU DID IT! We are so grateful for your dedication to fundraise, visit doctors, and struggle with visas, sit on a 12+ plane ride followed by an 18 hour bus ride, smush into a taxi for a ~2 hour ride out to your village, work under the sweltering African heat and sun, eat the chicken and rice, jump in the cold showers, and own the layer upon layers of dirt.
Working in some of the most remote villages in the Northern Region is hard work. The work to get these businesses up and running is grueling. Some days you may have asked yourself, “What the heck am I doing here?” But each day you rose to the occasion. Each day you were quickly reminded of the end goal, maybe from watching a child run to the dugout to grab a drink of extremely turbid water, talking to a mother about the effects of kerosene she has seen within her family, or chattin’ with the chief and elders about their community’s options for water or electricity.
Words can hardly express our gratitude. We really enjoyed getting to know each of you. Your passion and drive are infectious. From the moment you arrived in Ghana we were impressed by your energy, go-getter spirits, and ability to learn on the fly. You all were exactly what we needed on our team to reach our goal of 11 new businesses this summer. We are so proud of the work that you were able to accomplish and feel fully confident in the sustainability of the businesses that you implemented during your time in Ghana. Thanks to each of you, approximately 1,320 people now have a permanent source of clean drinking water, 2,240 people have access to solar electricity and 28 women have become business owners.
Welcome to the Saha Family!
Sincerely,
Kate, Shak, Peter, Sam, Amin, Kathryn, Wahab & Eric
Kelly, Jessie, Wahab, Bria & Kelsey worked in Yepela to bring a source of clean drinking water to 456 people and a new job opportunity to Abiba & Amina.Cassie, Sharifa, Dani & Paul worked in Yakura to bring a source of electricity to 184 people and a new job opportunity to Ayi and Awabu.Nardos, Kristely, Dawnelle & Sita worked in Warivi brought a source of clean drinking water to 392 people and a new job opportunity to Fati, Fesina, Salamatu & Zuleha.Nestor, Josh Hallie & Camille worked in Vogyili to bring a source of electricity to 264 people and a new job opportunity to Asia, Fushina & Sanatu.Andrew, Sol, Rachel, Val and Shak worked in Namdu 2 to bring a source of electricity to 288 people and a new job opportunity to Fusiena, Rabi and Wumbe.Morganne, Katie, Khadijah, Robert & Lauren worked in Namdu to bring a source of electricity to 544 people and a new job opportunity to Fatima & Sowda.Isabel, Emma, Kevin, Eric and Molly worked in Kpenchilla to bring a source of electricity to 512 people and a new job opportunity to Zuera, Sana and Damu.Sasha, Richard, Sarah, Tara and Amin worked in Komlanyili to bring a source of clean drinking water to 272 people and a new job opportunity to Nina & Safia.Hunter, Lindsey, Greta, Heidi & Jaleel worked in Jangbarayili to bring 176 people a source of electricity and a new job opportunity to Aisha & Salamatu.Britt, Phoebe, Mekleet, Jessica & TJ worked in Belampuso to bring a source of electricity to 272 people and a new job opportunity to Beremina, Damu and Sana.Elizabeth, Havana, Simply. Danaite and Maggie worked in Bamvim to bring a source of clean drinking water to 200 people and a new job opportunity to Mariama and Hawabu.
Round 3 of the Saha Challenge took place in Boston and we are just one step away from choosing our expansion country. Our Field Rep Alumni Challenge participants came to Boston on Sunday May 31st to give their final pitches for Cambodia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Nicaragua to a panel of judges.
For this round of the competition each team was given twenty minutes to pitch a 10 day scouting plan for our team to follow this Summer. Since February the participants have been researching these countries to get a better idea of what operating in the different regions may look like. The plan they put together outlined where we would fly into, the in-country transportation logistics required to reach rural communities, and proposed one to three cities for the Saha headquarters, as well as anticipate what we should expect in the communities as far as water and electricity access goes.
The panel of judges consisted of Kate Clopeck, Gabe Shapiro, Sarah Kearney, Pat Cahill, and Susan Murcott. As many of you may be aware, Kate Clopeck is Saha’s Executive Director and Co-founder; she knows the interworking of Saha’s operations in Ghana and gave the panel a balance when thinking through the feasibility of obstacles each country presented. Gabe Shapiro is Vice President of Outreach Programs at Next Step Living, one of Saha’s partners. Sarah Kearney is a Saha Board Member and the Executive Director at PRIME Coalition. Pat Cahill is also a Board Member and is the President at beep! directed voicemail. Susan Murcott is a Research Engineer at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and was Kate’s advisor when she attended MIT. Each judge’s unique understanding in this round was IMMENSELY beneficial! Their insight when thinking through Saha Global’s expansion in each of these countries combined with their personal experience were incredible viewpoints to have when considering our operations in each country.
Our panel of judges was throughly impressed by each of our participants. It was important for our judges to remember that the best pitch may not be the best fit for Saha’s expansion. They really needed to take the information at hand and applying that to Saha’s current model. After much deliberation, the judges selected Peru and Nicaragua, with the runner up being Ecuador. At the moment our budget only allows for scouting two countries. If given adequate funding, we would also love to scout Ecuador, as we think it has great Saha expansion potential.
For this next step in the Challenge our team will pack up and head to Peru and Nicaragua! The research is at a point where the only to way to get a better idea of what working in the country is to physically be there! Traveling out to the rural communities, meeting with community leaders, asking them about the current water and electricity situation, figuring out what materials are locally available, talking with locals about transportation and accommodation options, etc. We could not be any more excited!
A huge thank you to Katie Rumer, Kirsten Abel, MJ Rice, Sarah Steinke, Maxine Auzerais, and Kiana Kawamura for your participation in the Saha Challenge. We could have never gotten to this point without you. You all presented a solid case for your country’s and, if funding allowed, we would love to scout each one! Your research will be EXTREMELY beneficial as we look forward to exploring Cambodia, Ecuador and Panama for Saha in the future!
Ramatu is one of the business owners of both the solar and water businesses in Nekpegu, a small village located about two hours outside of Tamale. She was born and raised in Tohinayili, which is another Saha partner village in the Northern Region of Ghana. She later got married to her present husband in Nekpegu and has lived there ever since. She has 6 kids, four boys (two of the boys are a set of twins!) and two girls. Alongside running the water and solar businesses in her community, she farms groundnuts, okra and shea nuts. She grinds the shea nuts to make shea butter, which she then sells in the market.
Ramatu and her business partner, Fatima, have been running the water business in Nekpegu for two years. With the help of 2013 Winter Field Reps, Vanessa, Linda, Alexa & Julia, Ramatu and Fati were trained how to run the water treatment business to provide a source of clean drinking water to their entire community of about 300 people. “People are cooperative and come to buy water anytime they treat water and make announcements,” says Ramatu.
The solar charging business was implemented in Nekpegu just this past November by 2014 Fall Field Reps, Anne, Terry, Kerry & Mary. “Now our kids can study at night” Ramatu says. When asking Ramatu about the solar business she remembered the opening night of the solar center when they did a local dance, torah, with Terry and Anne to celebrate. “I am so happy to make sales at the solar and water business!” she states.
My name is Matt. I’m 20 years old studying Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech, and I was a field rep for the 2015 Winter Global Leadership Program. Over my first few years of college I was pretty focused the pursuit of “success” after graduation, which I figured involved landing a job and making money. I started doing web development for a consulting firm and things seemed to be falling into place, but by the time I started my senior year I had realized the path I was on wasn’t going to lead me to happiness. I knew I wanted to make a change, but I didn’t know in what direction. Enter Saha Global. I found out about the Global Leadership Program by chance through an email on my major’s Listserv. The program’s simplicity and elegance captivated me and I was amazed by the measurable impact it had in northern Ghana. I knew that this was something I would truly find rewarding.
The experience was so much more than I expected. I spent three weeks with my team in the village of Takpili implementing a solar electricity business. We laid mud bricks and constructed the solar center by hand, trained four women to be self-sustaining entrepreneurs, and supplied all 80 households in Takpili with renewable energy and light. But above all else, I value the relationships I built along the way. My fondest memories are of playing soccer with the children of the village, riding bikes through Tamale with Peter (our team’s leader-translator-extraordinaire), and learning to drive stick shift from our taxi driver, Hustla.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned from this experience is how those receiving aid view the organizations providing it. In Takpili, a village that already had a Saha water business, the village elders were completely receptive towards our propositions for implementing a solar business. They trusted us because of the level of commitment Saha had already demonstrated in monitoring the village years after implementation. In contrast, they expressed to us how they often see organizations come through and make promises of improving quality of life only to find that what they provided was extraneous. There were remnants of projects that were started but unbeknownst to the village, got caught up in red tape and were never finished. It really helped me appreciate the work Saha is doing, from the comprehensive village scouting and research beforehand to the five year post-implementation plan for village independence.
The Global Leadership Program shaped the way I think about my future. I know now that I want to work in international development, ideally in a field that also incorporates my engineering background. Currently I’m finishing up my undergraduate degree, looking to graduate in the spring, but I’m excited to stay involved with Saha in the future.
Want to learn more about Matt’s experience or have any specific questions? Matt would be happy to tell you more and can be contacted at matts@vt.edu Also keep up with what Matt is up to now here!
Last week the Field Rep Alumni participants in Round 2 of the The Saha Challenge submitted video pitches for Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ecuador, India, Malawi, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. Our panel of judges met on Wednesday to watch each pitch and select which countries would move on to Round 3 of the competition.
The panel of judges consisted of Kate Clopeck, Mark Moeremans and Alison Hynd. Kate Clopeck, as most of you know, is Saha’s Executive Director and Co-founder. Mark Moeremans is a Board Member, was a 2012 Water Field Representative and piloted the first Solar program after winning the Saha Global Social Enterprise Competition in 2013. Alyson Hynd is the Director for Program & Fellowships at MIT’s Public Service Center, where she reviews hundreds (maybe thousands!) of students international project proposals for funding. Each judge’s insight in this round was EXTREMELY valuable! Their knowledge about travel and program logistics in each of these countries combined with their personal experience were amazing perspectives to have when considering Saha Global operating in each country.
For this round of the competition, the participants focused on a specific region and worked on quantifying the need for clean water and electricity in the rural communities in that region. They found partners on the ground who helped paint a better picture of the needs of the rural villages, which are often hard to extrapolate from general country statistics. They then used the information they gathered to put together a 15 minute video pitch.
Our panel of judges was extremely impressed by each of the participants pitches and they each presented strong cases. After much discussion, the judges selected Nicaragua, Peru, Panama, Cambodia and Ecuador to move on to Round 3. We are extremely confident in our judges decision and are even more excited about the possibilities in Saha Global expanding to one of these countries!
Nicaragua will be represented by Bryant Foreman & Lucas Hilsbos , Panama by Kirsten Abel & Katie Rumer, Ecuador by Maxine Auzerais & Kiana Kawamura, Peru by Leah Staschke & Aly Carr and Cambodia by MJ Rice & Sarah Steinke.
For Round 3 of the competition our participants will be coming to Boston in May to give a live pitch in front of another panel of judges. The countries chosen to move on from Round 3 be visited by members of our Team this Summer!
A huge thank you to Katie Spruill, Danya Kiernan, Matt Sullivan, Jake Ballard, Melissa Quinn and Julia Kapit for your participation in the Saha Challenge. We appreciate all of your hard work and look forward to exploring Malawi, Bangladesh and India for Saha Global in the future!
Every year for World Water Day, we invite some of our women entrepreneurs to our office in Tamale for a little celebration. Although many of these ladies have worked with Saha for years, they rarely get to meet other water entrepreneurs since their communities are far from each other. We love having an excuse to get some of the women together so they can share ideas, discuss issues and have fun getting to know one another. It’s one of our favorite days of the year! Read about past World Water Days here, here and here!
Since n oone from our American team was in Ghana for World Water Day this year, I’m turning the blog over to one of our managers, Eric. This is Eric’s first blog post!
Picking which women to invite to World Water Day is always a hard decision. This year, the staff sat at a meeting and decided to cast lots to pick the women to invite. All Saha Global villages were written on pieces of paper. Each staff member took turns to pick a village till we got to the number needed. The chosen villages were later visited by staff to formerly invite the women for World Water Day.
On the day of the celebration, when they got to town from their respective villages, the women called the office of their arrival. They were told to grab any available cab and directions were given to the driver and they were brought to the office.
When the first batch of women arrived, a movie was played with the projector whilst the other were waited on. Anytime a batch came, they were served with drinks. Sachet water was also available. Later we gave the women a tour and they were excited to see their pictures displayed in the office!
Once everyone arrived, presentations started. Peter started by welcoming the women and talked on World Water Day. It’s celebrated all over the world all in the aim of bringing awareness on the need to drink safe,clean drinking water. Wahab talked on why dugout water is not safe to drink. He talked on how the dugout gets contaminated with human and animal excrement, and also sewage from households. That causes bacteria which make people sick. I then talked on sales and savings. I explained the ways they can make sales anytime water is treated, like making an announcement at the mosque or going round households to tell people that water is ready. I also talked about how savings is important so that parts can be fixed or replaced when spoilt. Next, Shak encouraged the women to keep up the good work. He spoke on the need to always contact the chief and elders to update them on the progress of their work. Finally, Amin finished the presentations by telling the women to keep their centers clean and attractive. He spoke on the need to keep centres up and running and finished with a poem on water.
We then help lead discussions among the women. The women from Moya talked about how their village has taken the centre seriously. People come to refill their safe storage containers anytime they run out of clean water. Awabu from Kulaa said “Saha is the best!” Although other two water projects have been set up in Kulaa,the people still come to the center to refill their safe storage containers. Djelo women are happy that solar has been added to the water centre. Now at night, their kids read and do their homework. The village is now bright at night and they are grateful. Women from Laligu said how people, especially the kids, used to complain of stomach ache. But now, thanks to the water treatment center, they don’t experience such again.
After three staff members gave their presentations, we went for break. Food and drinks were served. Presentations continued after the break. After presentations,the women were thanked for making it possible. Women were given transport money. Later went out and took a group picture of the staff with the women. The cab drivers were called and and the women departed the office to their various stations. It was a great day!
Shak, Eric, Peter, Wahab, Amin, and Mark, with Fusiena, Zelia, Azara, Zaharawu, Sharatu, Awabu, Fati, Kusumi, Memounatu, Latifa, Moshi, Memounatu, Sharatu, Fatima, Fatimatah and Hamshaw.
As you know by now, 2015 is going to be a big year for Saha Global. We’ve already begun planing our expansion to a new country and launched our Advisory Board made up of some awesome Field Rep Alumni. But, that’s not all! We have also welcomed two new people to our Board of Directors! Patrick Cahill and Mark Moeremans joined our Board this past February and have been amazing additions to our team. They both bring unique skill sets that have proven to be extremely helpful as we plan for our growth. Without further ado, meet Mark and Pat:
Patrick Cahill principal of rally point webinars & beep! directed voicemail Patrick was elected to Saha Global’s Board of Directors in February 2014 after spending a year advising the organization on marketing. Patrick strongly believes in the power of entrepreneurship as an agent of change and empowerment having founded beep! Directed after starting and finding success in his first marketing services firm and through his work at The National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. At beep!, start-ups to publicly traded companies look to Patrick on how to implement, measure, and systematically improve scalable outreach campaigns that directly impact revenue. Patrick brings this focus in his work with Saha, ensuring the organization is implementing best practices tested and perfected in the ‘for-profit’ world. Patrick holds a B.S. degree from Babson College where he focused on Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management.
Mark Moeremans consultant at deloitte consulting Representing Saha Field Rep Alumni, Mark was elected to Saha Global’s Board of Directors in February of 2014. Mark first got involved with Saha Global as a Field Rep in 2012 and piloted the first Solar program after winning the Saha Global Social Enterprise Competition in 2013. Mark works as a Management Consultant at Deloitte Consulting and has brought his management expertise to the organization. Mark has a passion for global development having worked across Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America in a variety of fields including education, resource management, technology, and community leadership. Mark believes that business and entrepreneurship are the keys to lifting communities out of poverty. Mark holds a B.S. in Philosophy and Communications from Boston College.
