Home at Last

We arrived at Bellingham International Airport on Saturday 9/26/09 as scheduled about 3:30pm. A bit tired and sore from lack of activity, we are all VERY excited and glad to be home!! Thanks to all of you who have been checking our progress, we will try to post some follow up pictures after we have a chance to go through them. We also send our best wishes to Gail and Gary who are still traveling through Africa on a 4 week adventure.

Last Day

We were awakened on our last morning by the hotel clerk to let us know that we had a phone message that a meeting had been scheduled for us with the Chief Manager of the Planning and Development Division of Ghana Water Company. The scheduling of this meeting was exactly what we hoped for, however, it left us with only 45 minutes to get dressed, pack, eat breakfast and check out from the hotel! Afterward, we connected with the Vice President of Engineers Without Borders-Ghana and solidified the resolve of our future working relationship. Our last hurrah in the city was at the Arts Center about two blocks from the hotel. A VERY intense experience of bargaining and averting hopeful merchants, we left with a few trinkets for friends and family before heading to the airport.

Back in the Big City

As anticipated, the last two days have been a whirlwind. We are now landed safely in Accra where we hope to connect with the head office of Ghana Water Company as well as do some sight seeing. Two of our members left us in Cape Coast to do further travel so we are now a team of four.

Tuesday was a big day for meetings. In the morning we held our Town Hall meeting where members of the community were invited to meet with us to discuss water and sanitation. It started off with a prayer, and was followed by an overview of our objectives when we started and some of our findings. We then broke into three smaller groups where we asked community members for specific input to help us identify their priorities as we work toward a solution. We came out of it with a Memo of Understanding listing their commitments as well as ours. Each and every attendee signed the document. We later included further commitments from the Municipal Chief Executive, the local representative for the Ghana Water Company, and our project partner, Western Heritage Home. It left us feeling very positive that while our role here is not simple, we feel a commitment by the community and its leadership and hope we can really help to make a difference here.

Tuesday afternoon two of our members gave a "lecture" to 600 engineering students at Takoradi Polytechnic Institute with members from Engineers Without Borders - Ghana. The dialog was well received, and we feel the prospects of establishing a student chapter in this community is very likely. This is very important, as these future engineers will be able to carry on this important work not only in Axim, but in other areas of Ghana as they become professionals themselves.

Tuesday evening we held a "thank you and farewell" dinner on the beach for our friends in Axim that were so helpful in our week there. At the end of the dinner, we were each "presented" with a shirt/dress in fabric that looks like the beautiful kente cloth that is so sacred here. We were very touched by the generosity of our partners with Western Heritage Home. Good byes were difficult, but we managed to wish our friends farewell with only a few tears.

Wednesday was travel day. After settling the bill at the hotel and loading our things, we traveled easterly and, after a brief stop in Takoradi to say farewell to our host James Kainyah, we traveled to Cape Coast where we had lunch with Kathryn Roe, a part-time resident of Ghana and Bellingham. We then proceeded to the "canopy walk" where we climbed to the top of the tree canopy of the forest 180 meters high, and continued through a series of suspension bridges. An amazing experience! We then returned back to Kathryn's place where two of our members left us for further travels.

That is about all for now. We'll try to post some pictures soon. TTFN.

Last day of data collection

Our wonderful partners are working on a national holiday to help us to gather more data before our Town Hall meeting tomorrow morning. Because our time is now short, we are experimenting more with taxis and other types of transportation so that we can split up and cover more ground. Mike started early with draw down tests of the two "bore holes" in the system (known to us as deep wells). He is doing this not only to gather data but to train the Ghana Water Company staff in the process. Meanwhile, Gary and Gail finished "as- builting" the system components, a labor-intensive process, helped largely by the students last week. Colleen and Rod starting tying in all the local stand-pipes and shallow wells across the distribution system while Ravyn made the final preparations for the Town Hall meeting tomorrow. Probably our fullest day, tomorrow starts with the meeting in the morning where we will be all helping to facilitate a discussion on water and sanitation and hope that the outcome will result in a memo of understanding between us and the community. Afterward, Colleeen and Gary go off to Takoradi to give a lecture to 1000 engineering students in Takoradi while the rest of us meet with the King and Municipal Chief Executive to close out things here. We will conclude our time in Axim with a party on the beach, where we hope to thank those that have been so helpful to us in our work. We depart for Accra on Wednesday morning, stopping at the "canopy walk" north of Cape Coast, so may be out of contact for a few days until we land there. Stay tuned for the next segment soon...

A traditional meal followed by a day at the beach

After a long but rewarding week of work we were looking forward to the dinner we had been invited to at the Western Heritage Home. They were intending to make Fufu for us, a traditional and well loved Ghanaian dish that is not often found in restaurants. The dish is extremely labor intensive requiring a whole day to prepare. It is a mixture of cooked cassava and plantain that is pounded with a very large long stick, with one brave soul turning the mixture by hand after each strike! The children entertained us with their repertoire of songs which was very sweet and touching. After that we all sat down to our long awaited meal. The Fufu was served in a soup called light soup which contained both chicken and smoked fish and was extremely spicy! The way to eat Fufu is by using your right hand to "tear" off a piece and use it to eat the liquid with. The Fufu is supposed to be swallowed without chewing, something that we all found impossible to do. Ravyn, unfortunately, was the only one of us that could finish her whole meal. The rest of us tried very hard but between the texture of the Fufu, and the spiciness of the soup, we found it impossible to finish. After dinner we were shown around the home by the children and the staff, each of us with our own special little escort in tow. All in all, a lovely evening.



Saturday was our first day off, and we all decided a day at the beach town of Basua was just what we needed. Basua is a small village about 1 hour drive east of Axim. It is such a beautiful spot with long golden beaches and surf just perfect for novices. Gary, Colleen, and Mike all went boogie boarding or surfing and really enjoyed the big, but even waves. We enjoyed watching them from the beach side cafe where we met up with Steven and his family for the day. Wilson and Kingsford also joined us for the day so we had quite the table full of people relaxing and enjoying each other's company. As much as we all love Axim, it was really nice to see a different part of Ghana.

Progress Is Being Made

Now that our entire team is healthy again, we have been making better progress. Yesterday, we were able to gather rainfall and population data from various government offices which will be very helpful in our analysis. We have also been collecting horizontal and vertical survey data much more quickly since we decided to use a GPS instrument. Our mapping of the layout of each of the system components is also going well with the assistance of the students. Speaking of students, two members of our team will be going to Takoradi on Tuesday afternoon after the town hall meeting to give a lecture to the 1000 engineering students at the school. While there, our team will meet with the President of the local Rotary Association. Our survey loop should be completed today, so we will be able to expand our efforts to the location of the various design alternatives. However, it appears our role for the time being may be one of advocacy instead of construction. The best chance of seeing our efforts carried out locally is with the solid connection we have made with the EWB-Ghana Chapter in Accra. They plan to come here Monday evening and participate in all the activities on Tuesday, returning to Accra with us on Wednesday.

The Culture of Music

Some things are universal, and when it comes to the joy that music can bring, that was certainly the case last night. Two ukuleles were generously donated by the Bellingham Ukulele Group through their Ukes for Kids project. Ravyn introduced these to the kids at Western Heritage Home last night. They will be doing a song exchange with the kids from the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship. Last night they learned the "C" chord by first watching Ravyn and gradually each teaching eachother. The kids are so polite, helpful and sharing with eachother which is so refreshing to witness.

How much a map can help

In our effort to determine the demand or need for clean drinking water, some time was spent with the Ghana Water Company billing agent and meter reader. From their records of customers, we are able to determine the amount of use by domestic, commercial, government and stand pipe use. One would think, great, our task is done! However, "domestic" in their terms could be a compound of several families and "standpipe" could involve 100's of people. Alas, the job is more challenging as there is no map that shows the locations of these uses. We went around town by a combination of car and walking and located the majority of the standpipes on the map that we brought. As for usage, they have "attendants" that collect money for people's use, but they do not keep track about the number of people. Probably the most exciting part of the field trip was the discovery that much of the area we thought needed additional distribution actually has a system. Unfortunately, however, many people use the shallow wells even when the public water is there because they don't have to pay for it. Ah, I guess if the solution was easy, we wouldn't be here....

A day at the water treatment plant

Today the first group of civil engineering students from the Takoradi Polytechnic Institute arrived. Gary gave a well spoken introduction of the Engineers Without Borders organization along with who we are and what our goals are for this project. The students and a few faculty members spent the day with Gary, Rod, Mike, and the plant supervisor “Robert” walking along the entire water treatment process from the pump intake at the Crocodile River dam through the aeration/sedimentation, filtration, pH control and disinfection, and initial storage facilities and getting an overview of the entire Axim water system and how it operates. Robert has been an invaluable asset in helping us understand how Axim’s water supply, treatment, and distribution system operates, and he was very gracious to take his time to describe the processes and facilities to the students. After all, the first he heard of his involvement as an instructor was when a van of 15 students and faculty pulled up in front of his office at 10:AM this morning. Rod had a few students helping him begin the survey from the treatment plant to town while Gary had the rest of the students perform field take-offs of the treatment facilities. We thoroughly enjoyed working with the engineering students and staff and know the feeling was mutual. I will sign off now because there is a strange insect sneaking up on me and I am not sure what it’s intentions are. –Mike

Ask...and you shall receive

9/15/09
Monday we were "presented" to the Municipal Chief Executive (the equivalent of our County Executive) so that he knew we were in town and so that he could offer his "protection." In addition, we requested a letter from him enlisting support from the Ghana Water Company offices in Takoradi (Regional) and Accra (National). Afterward we met with representatives from the Takoradi Polytechnic Institute to formalize the plans for the students. They have a class of 60 second year students that are taking a water resources class that they would like to send to Axim to help with our field work. At first, they wanted to send all 60 students for the week. We "negotiated" to 15 students per day for four days. Afterward, they want us (or a portion thereof) to do a "lecture" to the remaining 1000 students in their engineering program. They are also very interested in meeting with the EWB-Ghana folks from Accra to possibly establish a Takoradi Chapter. The details of this are yet to be finalized.... Meanwhile, other members of the team broke off and started their work on as-builting the existing treatment plant and determining the exact schematic of the full system, which is much more elaborate than originally thought.

Today we met with the manager of the regional office for the Ghana Water Company. With the letter from the MCE in hand, he has offered his support for existing maps, survey information, expansion plans, and water quality testing needed for our analysis. We are hopeful that we will retrieve this information before we leave Axim. It was also our first day with the students. More on that in a later post. In addition, we have set the date for our Town Hall meeting on water and sanitation for next Tuesday. Tuesday is the day the fishermen are off work, so we are hopeful the meeting will be well attended. Depending on the level of follow up needed after the meeting, we may extend our stay in Axim by one day (shortening our return stay in Accra).

Three members of our team have been suffering with stomach ailments, and we have been shifting plans as necessary, and enlisting our partners here for follow up work as needed after we depart.

More Introductions

Sunday we met with John Abugri, a health educator at the local nursing school. He has helped us in the past in meeting with the community and conducting individual health assessments. We also met with Wilson, the District manager of Ghana Water Company, as well as the operator of the Axim system, Robert (who will be a huge asset to our progress). We rode on the back of their operations truck through town, and to all of the different parts of the existing water system (which is actually quite extensive). We felt a bit as if we were in a parade as we drove through town - children were shouting greetings, and waving along the way, "Abruni, how are you?!". It sounds almost like they are singing. Everyone has been very friendly here. We got a chance to walk through the neighborhood in lower part of town where most of the fishermen and their families live - the area we intend to serve. It was a very humbling experience, and reminded us all of exactly why we are here. Many of the residents came out to greet us as we walked by, and offered to accompany us along the path to town. Again, everyone has been extremely kind. Another busy day today, better get going...

Kundum Festival!

James picked us up from the hotel and drove us into town. After stopping to talk with everyone we passed we went on to tour the Castle.....very sad place. There is a tunnel that leads from the castle to an offshore island that was used to "trick" the slaves onto the waiting ships. After about 400 hundred years of colonial rule (Portuguese, Dutch, British) the Ghanaians finally have an independent country. After the tour we were off to take our seats as guests at the Kundum festival. The festival is a festival of forgiveness and it travels from Accra, along the coast as far as the Ivory Coast. The festival lasts for about a week in each place and is full of fun and excitement. The King arrived in a canoe carried above every one's head. He and his council are in traditional dress, and quite colorful. Most of the people are wearing their finest. There were many speeches which we did not understand as it was in enzima, the local language, but we were honoured by the MC, the Ambassador to Germany, and the local MP(Member of Parliament).....then finally, after all the speeches were over we were off to a local place for some fun and dancing. All, in all, a very special day.

We made it to see the King of Axim (Lower)

It was a day of driving through Accra and then along the coast to Axim. We spent the first portion of the day looking for safety cones and paint for Rod's surveying. After dodging thousands of people along side the road not to mention all of the cars that looked like they wanted to t bone us we made it to the open road. We stopped in at the Poly Tech School in Takradi to see about a joint venture with Students so they can get some practical experience. At each place we stop there is a formal initial meeting with introductions as you sit neatly in a row of chairs, and then down to the subject at hand. At the Poly tech we were greeted by all of the deans of the engineering departments as well as the Director of the school of 8,000 students. Rather than a couple to help with the surveying they will be coming in a mini bus of 10 per day to observe our activities - essentially we will be giving classes as well as gathering information, but it is a great association to have. Then on to Axim where we are driven straight to the King's palace and await his calling us to a formal meeting in the grounds by the palace and we are introduced. Afterward, in an informal setting, he jokes and laughs about the constant meetings he has to make during the festival, this was just the warm up for tomorrow when we will be introduced to the entire town on the closing day of the festival. We have done some serious meeting and talking and traveling all in the aim to develop relationships - but come Sunday we start the field trip in earnest, tape measures and survey rods and all.

Meeting Day...

9/10/09- Today was a very productive and informative day! We were fortunate enough to have 3 meetings today. The first was a representative of USAID who gave us some great insight into the water and sanitation challenges in Ghana. The second group were members of EWB-Ghana, who were excited and eager to partner with us in our project. They made connections for us with the Ghana Water Company in Accra, and were able to obtain the Axim Master Water Plan (which we have been asking for for 3 years!!). Our third meeting was with a hydrogeologist who works for the national water resource agency. He gave us some great information about the history of Ghana water systems, and invaluable information about water supply. All were very friendly, and we are VERY lucky to have their help. James, a partner with Western Heritage Home, arrived today to stay the night, and take us to Axim in the morning. He provided us with many laughs, and shared a few delicious meals with us (ok, and a few more glasses of Star). Now it's time for bed to get ready for an early rise to hit the road to Axim. We made some very helpful and crucial partnerships today, and we feel lucky to have met them all! Good night, and we'll post again when we have a chance.

We're Here!

9/09/09-After 27 hours of traveling, we finally arrived at Accra airport in Ghana. We all had a nice stretch in Amsterdam where we had a 6 hour layover which allowed us to take the train into town and explore the canals. It was amazing to have so much travel and no delays of any kind. We all managed a little sleep here and there (some more than others, sigh), and arrived ready and eager to find our hotel. The hotel is very pleasant and we enjoyed the fine taste of Star* , fried plantains and a good night sleep.

* refreshing and cold local brew

Departure Approaches

As our departure day approaches, we are all wrapping things up at work, finalizing our lists and hoping our suitcases stay below 50 pounds. We depart Bellingham International Airport next Tuesday 9/8 at 9:2oam. We don't get in to Accra, Ghana until 7pm 9/9.