Hello,
Below you will find our blog for the first half of our implementation trip in Ghana. The team is doing great and the project is coming along wonderfully. We promise to get more photos up as soon as we can! Feel free to leave comments!!
-Yua Development Project Implementation Team
Day 27 (June 14, 2008)
Another early start for the ewb crew. We arranged to meet at Kakum for a guided hiking tour of the park at 6:30am, always a challenging task for this crowd. I told the team I would use the commute as my long run in the morning and meet them at the park. The run was a thrilling experience to say the least. The Ghanaians are surprisingly supportive of my athletic pursuits. I seem to be universally known as "The Sportsman" in all parts of the country. It caught me off guard to see large machete-wielding men step out of the shadows and suddenly breakout with toothy smiles and shout "Sportsman!" Fourteen miles never felt so short. The team pulled up to the visitor's center just as I arrived at 6:30.
Kakum National Park proudly boasts the only Rain Forest Canopy Walk in Africa. It certainly did not disappoint. Rope bridges span the tops of seven giant trees reaching 150 feet above the forest floor. The hike continued to one of the largest trees in the forest. Danielle, Berai, and Olivia stand at the base of the old giant. And yes, that's the tree behind them.
Later in the day we spontaneously decided to go check out some of the castles down at Cape Coast. It was a scenic drive along the coast highway to some historic castle I had not heard of. The van pulled up at the base of a beautiful white castle overlooking the ocean. We piled out of the van and gleefully walked across the draw bridge. I was the first to spot the chilling inscription on wall beside the main doorway. On it was written
IN EVERLASTING MEMORY
OF THE ANGUISH OF OUR ANCESTORS
MAY THOSE WHO DIED REST IN PEACE
MAY THOSE WHO RETURN FIND THEIR ROOTS
MAY HUMANITY NEVER AGAIN PERPETUATE
SUCH INJUSTICE AGAINST HUMANITY
WE THE LIVING VOW TO UPHOLD THIS
I remember thinking to myself "what is this place?" Elmina Castle was the first, oldest, and largest slave trading post in Africa. It served as a major hub of the Atlantic Slave Trade for almost four hundred years. Men and women were marched in from as far away as Mali to be exported from the castle. We saw the slave dungeon where they were held and the loading room that docked to the transport ships. The door was intensionally narrowed so that captured slaves could not slip through to join their chained family members.
Dinner was quieter than usual tonight. David in particular seemed especially reticent. I think it hit him the hardest.
Kakum National Park proudly boasts the only Rain Forest Canopy Walk in Africa. It certainly did not disappoint. Rope bridges span the tops of seven giant trees reaching 150 feet above the forest floor. The hike continued to one of the largest trees in the forest. Danielle, Berai, and Olivia stand at the base of the old giant. And yes, that's the tree behind them.
Later in the day we spontaneously decided to go check out some of the castles down at Cape Coast. It was a scenic drive along the coast highway to some historic castle I had not heard of. The van pulled up at the base of a beautiful white castle overlooking the ocean. We piled out of the van and gleefully walked across the draw bridge. I was the first to spot the chilling inscription on wall beside the main doorway. On it was written
IN EVERLASTING MEMORY
OF THE ANGUISH OF OUR ANCESTORS
MAY THOSE WHO DIED REST IN PEACE
MAY THOSE WHO RETURN FIND THEIR ROOTS
MAY HUMANITY NEVER AGAIN PERPETUATE
SUCH INJUSTICE AGAINST HUMANITY
WE THE LIVING VOW TO UPHOLD THIS
I remember thinking to myself "what is this place?" Elmina Castle was the first, oldest, and largest slave trading post in Africa. It served as a major hub of the Atlantic Slave Trade for almost four hundred years. Men and women were marched in from as far away as Mali to be exported from the castle. We saw the slave dungeon where they were held and the loading room that docked to the transport ships. The door was intensionally narrowed so that captured slaves could not slip through to join their chained family members.
Dinner was quieter than usual tonight. David in particular seemed especially reticent. I think it hit him the hardest.
Day 18 (June 5)
Contributed by: Olivia
We arrived at the site determined to adhere the roofing felt to the panel seams and build the masonry wall for our hose bibbs. Both Johns and James from the Crew adhered the felt while I began supervision of the masonry structure. Matt and Berai walked to the local hand dug wells with their interpreter to test the water quality. Jared and Danielle journeyed via taxi to Bolga to upload the blog at Afrikids and return the oxyacetylene torch. The team was working with much gusto through the morning (assured from the previous day's success of pumping water) before John Campbell checked the CU 200 with the digital multi-meter and found that there was insufficient voltage to operate the pump. There was speculation as to whether a “short” was created when the felt was nailed to the panel and plywood. Work was momentarily halted when the team troubleshooted the problem.
A test panel was punctured with a nail around its perimeter and through its center to compromise its integrity. It was not easily compromised (which was great news) and deduced the problem to a spliced line to the CU 200. The team discussed solutions over lunch at SWOPA. Upon returning to the site, the team isolated an area of the cabana and bypassed the spliced line. Meanwhile, trenches were dug for the 5” x 8” x 16” solid concrete masonry blocks to elevate the polytank. A tic-tac-toe pattern was trenched at Dale's suggestion. Steven from the Crew of 6 assisted with his mason experience.
Danielle and Berai befriended Sherina to assist them on their home visits and women's group meetings. It was with great delight to have the people of Yua visit the work site and greet the team with “Bulika” (Good morning) and “Toma! Toma! Toma! Toma!”
We arrived at the site determined to adhere the roofing felt to the panel seams and build the masonry wall for our hose bibbs. Both Johns and James from the Crew adhered the felt while I began supervision of the masonry structure. Matt and Berai walked to the local hand dug wells with their interpreter to test the water quality. Jared and Danielle journeyed via taxi to Bolga to upload the blog at Afrikids and return the oxyacetylene torch. The team was working with much gusto through the morning (assured from the previous day's success of pumping water) before John Campbell checked the CU 200 with the digital multi-meter and found that there was insufficient voltage to operate the pump. There was speculation as to whether a “short” was created when the felt was nailed to the panel and plywood. Work was momentarily halted when the team troubleshooted the problem.
A test panel was punctured with a nail around its perimeter and through its center to compromise its integrity. It was not easily compromised (which was great news) and deduced the problem to a spliced line to the CU 200. The team discussed solutions over lunch at SWOPA. Upon returning to the site, the team isolated an area of the cabana and bypassed the spliced line. Meanwhile, trenches were dug for the 5” x 8” x 16” solid concrete masonry blocks to elevate the polytank. A tic-tac-toe pattern was trenched at Dale's suggestion. Steven from the Crew of 6 assisted with his mason experience.
Danielle and Berai befriended Sherina to assist them on their home visits and women's group meetings. It was with great delight to have the people of Yua visit the work site and greet the team with “Bulika” (Good morning) and “Toma! Toma! Toma! Toma!”
Contributed by: John Yatsko
Disaster!
Disaster!
Perhaps the most difficult part of construction so far was finishing the roofing and waterproofing the solar array. The process consisted of cutting twelve precisely measured strips out of two felt rolls and lacing them carefully around and between the panels. We then nailed all of the strips to the panels and secured them to the edges with industrial adhesive. The sun felt especially intense today and the morning's work carried into the afternoon as we awaited the return of our teammates from Bolga.
At last, we finished the roofing and climbed down for a well deserved drink from the cooler. To our dismay, we were told the water ran out three hours earlier and the van was in Bolga...drat! One brilliant individual suggested we turn on the pump. So we sent John Cambell up the ladder and... nothing. The pump stopped working.
Thoroughly sun baked and demoralized, none of us had the energy to troubleshoot the system before lunch. We sat under the cabana and discussed the possibilities. The worst case scenario was that we completely destroyed our array by hammering nails through all the panels. If that were the case, we would have to scrap the plans for the school and return home with a half completed project. To rule out this possibility, Cambell opened up the tool shed and banged a few nails through an extra panel in an attempt to reproduce the damage on the roof. The panel was unaffected, so we had some peace of mind while we ate our lunch.
We returned to the site and began the investigation. The system registered 25 Volts on the multimeter, where it had read 130 yesterday. 25 seemed a peculiar number since there was no part of the circuit that should read anything close to that. We had no choice but to tear up the roofing and undo all the connections we had assembled yesterday. I almost cried. We diligently redid all the connections and measured the voltage of each of the eight strings of panels individually. All eight registered 130 volts. We put the strings of panels back together and again...25 volts. Cambell and I sat on the roof and stared at each other for a while until I finally realized the problem had to be in the jump wire buried underneath the array. We cut the wire out of the circuit and replaced it with a fresh one. 130 Volts. We must have hit the jump wire with a nail and grounded out the system when we laid down the felt strips.
We heat shank all the connections again (with hot embers from the camp fire of course) and replaced the damaged roofing. Cambell and I called it a day and Olivia's team began work on the masonry structure.
Day 17 (June 4)
Contributed by: Jared
Water!
Today, water flowed by the sun's power and into the mouths and headpans of the Yua people.
Yesterday, we secured an acetylene torch from a local welder. Bartering the man down from $30/hour to $30/day for five days, we were sure the heat-shrink splices would proceed with ease—and they did, for about twenty 
minutes when the gas in the tanks ran out. (Not that we hadn't asked if the tanks were full; we had been assured that they were.) So, it was a day of heat-shrinking by sticks embered by a small campfire. The pump went down the well, the array upon the cabana, and soon thereafter, water flowed into the open air. Folks dashed seemingly from every point on the horizon, and a crowd was soon assembled for water gathering and even splashing and playing—truly a moment we have all been waiting for.
Day (June 3)
Contributed By: Berai
Today, Dale, Ken, Trotta and I went to another hospital it was better than the others, but still could benefit from the Help of Medical Hands for Healing.
We also traveled to the Sirigu and Yua clinic to deliver supplies that the Medical Hands for Healing crew brought along. Both clinics received the medical supplies joyously and happily as “Santa Ken” handed them out.
On a side note: Olivia and I are roomies in one of the SWOPA guest houses and every night we hear a little creature pitter- pattering all night long—keeping us guessing as to what is lurking above. Keep ya posted if we find out what our little friend is.
Today, Dale, Ken, Trotta and I went to another hospital it was better than the others, but still could benefit from the Help of Medical Hands for Healing.
We also traveled to the Sirigu and Yua clinic to deliver supplies that the Medical Hands for Healing crew brought along. Both clinics received the medical supplies joyously and happily as “Santa Ken” handed them out.
On a side note: Olivia and I are roomies in one of the SWOPA guest houses and every night we hear a little creature pitter- pattering all night long—keeping us guessing as to what is lurking above. Keep ya posted if we find out what our little friend is.
Day 15 (June 2)
Contributed by: Jared
The local children holler three words at us: ponga, Yatsko, and Yua!
Ponga means “strength”, a term we've been steadily hollering at one another for a loose translation of “keep it up!”
Yatsko is our beloved John's last name, who perhaps stands out more than others due to his lovely golden locks. And as a chief designer of the cabana structure, his name is regularly called during the work day with enough emphasis, enunciation, and response from Yatsko himself that the children have caught on.
Yua I think is a beautiful exclamation, which began last year when Danielle found herself briefly without words for translation at the Welcome Ceremony. She hollered “Yua!” and the response of “Yua” in unison from the community spurred Danielle to repeat the cry, each time with a spirited response from the group. Now, Danielle is typically greeted with a “Yua!” cheer, serving as her nickname. This has evolved to the point that when our van drives down the Yuan dirt roads, children chase after us yelling “Yua! Yua! Yua!” with enormous smiles on their faces.
The work continued today and we were able to finish sheeting the roof. Tomorrow we hope to get the panels assembled and placed on the roof. A major obstacle has been locating a torch for heat shrinking the gazillions splice fittings we have integrated into the array design. As you might guess, hardware is not as readily accessible in northern
Anyhoo, back to the torch. In
Day 14 (June 1)
Contributed by: Jared
The work on the “cabana” continues. After last night's late hours, we took it easy in the A.M. and commenced work at a leisurely hour. We met with the Crew—the six folks from the community who have been designated “system chiefs”—and explained the day's intended proceedings: we were to paint all of the wood to protect it from the elements, cut the posts to match the designed angle of the roof, and begin raiser rafters and fascia. We explained the design angle, or the “angle of incidence,” which is the optimal roof/panel pitch for harnessing the sun's energy.
The Crew, many additional members of the Yua community, and EWB worked side-by-side throughout the day, ultimately resulting in: (photo)
The work on the “cabana” continues. After last night's late hours, we took it easy in the A.M. and commenced work at a leisurely hour. We met with the Crew—the six folks from the community who have been designated “system chiefs”—and explained the day's intended proceedings: we were to paint all of the wood to protect it from the elements, cut the posts to match the designed angle of the roof, and begin raiser rafters and fascia. We explained the design angle, or the “angle of incidence,” which is the optimal roof/panel pitch for harnessing the sun's energy.
The Crew, many additional members of the Yua community, and EWB worked side-by-side throughout the day, ultimately resulting in: (photo)
Day 13 (May 31)
Contributed by: Berai
Huge! Unimaginable! Says, David at the completion of the first day of construction on the water plaza design when I asked him what he thinks. It was indeed huge and unimaginable, but it wasn't easy. I myself wasn't involved with the construction of the 30ftx12ftx14ft canopy foundation, but I did witness something incredible.
The beginning of the day started off meeting with the six people chosen to be
our core helpers with both the water plaza and solar power for the school along with an entire sleuth of others ready and willing to help us with the task at hand. The dimensions were setup using local wood and string to ensure that as the 14 foot posts were hoisted into the air they would be straight, level, and structurally sound or panga (“strong” in Fra-Fra). After the meeting Jared, Matt, and David headed to Bolgatonga for more supplies and the rest of us stayed behind in Yua helping where needed. The men and Olivia started work on digging the footers while Dani and I went with women to fetch water. Let me tell you, fetching water is not an easy task and requires a lot of strength. Dani and I tried putting the large basins of water on our heads, however, we couldn't keep them on long because they were extremely heavy and could have squished our necks. Dani did carry a smaller of bucket of water on her head for about 1km and she was exhausted by the end. Lesson learned: never underestimate the energy required to fetch water.
As the day progressed the men and Olivia kept working on the water plaza design while waiting for Jared, Matt and David to return with the “goods” from Bolga. Then finally the guys returned from Bolga with the gigantic polytank, 160 cement blocks, and tons o' wood. There was a battery crisis for a moment and if you saw John Campbell's face you may have thought the world was going to end. The crisis ended when the batteries arrived, well it almost ended since the batteries were gone and the “goods” didn't arrive until a couple of hours before sundown,so everyone was nervous that the six 14 foot posts would not be up before daylight was lost. Getting the posts up before the next day was crucial because if not it would set us back a day and we don't want to be behind.
Now, this is where amazing happens. Everyone: EWB, Medical Hands For Healing, and the community of Yua became one unit and worked as fast as possible to get cement ready for mixing, posts in the right position, rebar cages fabricated, and getting the security posts ready in the amount of sunlight left. But naturally, the sun went down and we only had one post hoisted in cement. Instead of stopping we pulled up the two vans and used the 
headlights. Everyone kept on working at rapid speed to finish (even though as Jared pointed out the sun is down there is no rush anymore), but everyone kept working calling out “mallet”, “nail it in” and John Campbell climbing up on Joseph's (one of the six picked to work with us) shoulders to nail in the security boards I honestly wish that everyone could have been there to see how amazing everyone worked together, it was one of the most incredible things I've seen happen between a group of people. Amazing.
Day 12 (May 30)
Contributed by: John Yatsko
The ceremony was electric. We could hear the drums and chants from a half mile off. We felt like royalty as they escorted us to the front row of chairs under a shade awning. The Yuan people surrounded the entertainment, a thousand deep. Across the wide circle of villagers sat the elders of the community. One by one, they introduced themselves and thanked us personally for our efforts. Most didn't speak English, but the sincerity in their eyes said enough. David began by introducing each of the ten of us to the crowd. Every introduction was followed by uproarious cheers. Many of the upstanding members of the community commended us for our efforts and urged the people to support our needs for the project. The “Elders” of our group were then presented with custom made scarfs, handwoven by the people of yua. Pictured below is Professor Trotta (Prof Prof) with his sheepish grin. The ceremony was then opened up to all the performing groups that had anxiously awaited our arrival.
One after another, the singing groups danced their way around the circle. One group of girls from the junior high
school actually wrote us a song and performed it in front of everyone. At the end of each performance, the singing groups would form a smaller circle in front of us and then throw down in a “dance off.” It was incredible to watch. The groups would begin with a steady clap before breaking it down to a fast paced rhythm that I could reproduce if I tried. People from all around would jump into the circle and begin dancing violently. Everyone did this. Elders would dive in and rival the intensity of the youngsters. A few brave members of our own crew even jumped in and threw down. The crowd exploded.
As a musician myself, I found the drummers particularly impressive. They would put my high school drum line to shame. Their style was so abstract, for the life of me I couldn't figure out how they stayed together. They didn't appear to be counting or following any repetitive pattern. They just felt it. Their was no beginning or end to it; even when they left the circle, we could hear them in the distance. The sound of drums carried through the night air. We could hear them from Sirigu that night as we went to sleep.
Day 11 (May 29)
Contributed by: Berai
Today I went with Dale Gray and Ken Baillie from Medical Hands for Healing and Dr. Trotta to visit the Municipal Health Center in Bolga and Afrikids Medical Clinic. We gained great insight into the true health status of the Upper East region and further established the link between health and engineering.
Our meeting with Dr. Alexis Nang-Beifubah from the Municipal Health Center was honest and alarming, but equally helpful and productive. For more than an hour Alexis painted a picture of the reality of the health in the Upper East through statistics and anecdotes. There are a lot of opportunities for EWB-NAU and Medical Hands for Healing to collaborate health and engineering to improve the quality of life in the Upper East. Alexis responded positively to Dale and Ken with their potential plans to return to the Upper East with a surgical team and supplies to alleviate some of the stress on the doctors in the Upper East. The surgical team would also be able to train and educate local doctors to do procedures with the equipment they bring, so they can provide more services to the citizens of the Upper East. Alexis said it best, “health is not medicine.” This is when engineering and EWB jumps in because health is related to water quality, infrastructure, waste water management of a community----medicine is merely a response. Alexis' point was if engineers can come to the Upper East and improve the aforementioned then his medical staff can have time to focus on patients with other ailments that are not directly related to water or infrastructure because everyone else would have good health, thus improving the overall quality of health in the Upper East.
After meeting with Alexis we drove over to meet with 
the staff at the Afrikids Medical Clinic. This portion of the morning was heartbreaking. When we entered the clinic there were a good number of people: men, women, and children waiting to be seen by the doctor. Despite the look of being overwhelmed and exhausted, the doctor and nurse expressed their desire to improve their clinic so they can continue to help people. The doctor expressed that he is overwhelmed with cases relating to malaria, and diarrheal diseases that it is difficult for him to help others who may be going into labor or have other illnesses. He also mentioned that his clinic needs more space for beds, but there is a problem of staffing more doctors and nurses as well. Some roofs within the clinic were leaking---a great place to have some engineers or construction management folks come in and do some repairs. The need for additional medical equipment is there as well.
By the end of the morning my heart was saddened by the health conditions of the Upper East, but simultaneously my heart was uplifted because EWB and their partners can bring positive change to many peoples lives.
Day 10 (May 28)
Contributed by: Danielle
We were invited and took lunch by the DCE at his wife's restaurant in Bolga. Afterwards we raced to Yua for an equally important meeting with the Yuan chief and elders. We brought them the traditional gift of Koala nuts, tobacco, and Schnapps and asked for their blessing to do this work in Yua. Embarrassingly, we discovered that one of the Schnapps bottles had been broken after we gave it to the chief, later I joked that it was indeed David who had secretly drank the Schnapps! Despite this the chief and elders gave us their full blessing and thanks.
With the appropriate blessings given, we were anxious to get started. We
drove directly to the Yuan market, where the drillers had just begun their work. A group of people were already gathered there and many jubilantly called out “Yua!” to us as we walked closer.
For me, actually seeing the drill rig working there was one of the greatest moments yet. It marked the beginning of what we all have been working towards for months. It gave me a feeling of great accomplishment to make good on a commitment to Yua. As we were all watching some of the elders would come up and shake our hands and some even gave us hugs!
Day 9 (May 27)
Contributed by: Matt
Today I woke up with the sun, bright and early around 6 am. This was not so much because of the restful day we had had yesterday, but more because I was puking my guts out. Once everyone got up we compared sleeping stories and discovered that both Jared and myself had eaten something bad. Jared seemed to have the worst of it and he got progressively sicker until the afternoon. I was sick all night and morning but mustered the energy to go to Bolga in the afternoon. Because I am in charge of the keeping track of the expenses, I decided that I must go to the bank to see if our project money had transferred to Ghana.
Dani, John Y., and myself met the fellas, fresh from Tamle, at Afrikids headquarters in Bolga. There, we discussed our money transfers with Andy and Nich of Afrikids. Roughly half of the money had already transferred, so we could provide a down payment to the Adongo and buy some more supplies.
Day 8 (May 26)
Contributed by: Matt
Today was not only Memorial Day back home, but it was also African Union Holiday here in
After “window shopping” (there are no windows in North Eastern Ghana), we were tired and indulged in some drinks under a beautiful mango tree. The mango tree is an amazing gift to people who live in such a hot place. The canopy provides a perfect shade and the leaves seem to radiate a cool mist down on you. Leisurely, we discussed our plans for the next few days and how busy we would be for the foreseeable future.
We said goodbye to David and John Peter, who headed south to Tamle to pick up Paul Trotta (our faculty adviser), Dale Grey (our professional advisor, sponsor, and chair of Medical Hands for Healing), and Ken Bailey (a surgical technician also with Medical Hands for Healing). The volunteers ate dinner at SWOPA, where we will now be eating most of our meals. After tonight's dinner of flavored rice, goat, and guinea fowl, we are excited to have found such great place.
Day 7 (May 25)
Contributed by: Danielle
In the morning we put on our best and went to church. The church was packed, people were spilling out of the doorway and gathered around the windows, peering in to watch the action. Today all the churches in the area gathered together to celebrate Corpus Cristi jointly. Even though we were late we were welcomed in and ushered to one of the benches inside. After a few songs the speaker asked us to stand. He greeted and thanked us for our presence in English and explained to the rest why we had come to the area, which was followed by applause. The rest of the service was given in FraFra, however, because it was a catholic church some of us understood the prayers being spoken. The service was full of singing and impressive joy, everyone stood for the songs and most danced along in the pews. After the service, we took part in a large precession to the market and back.
Later, we enjoyed a breeze with cokes and cookies under a mango tree and finally met Mr. Bernard Adongo, our driller. Mr. Adongo is a strong and confident man who also serves as a preacher in a church nearby. As we talked over the details of the borehole placement Adongo assured us that in fact he “does not drill dry boreholes.” He was so certain on his abilities that he explained he would take on the financial responsibility if the borehole should be dry. We were extremely satisfied with this as a dry borehole usually comes at a steep cost to the costumer.
Together with Pok and Adongo we traveled to Yua. My belly was shaking with excitement as we came into town and the faces I remembered began to line the road. Some of them shouted, “Yua!” to us as we passed. I chanted this to them during my speech last year and it was a compliment to see that it had stuck.
We arrived and Adongo pointed to the first spot he had chosen, about 30 meters to the east of the market, it was marked by a large stone. The stone was in the middle of a sizable field that
had been made into perfect rows. Although it was very dry, green leaves persevered through the dirt. Mussa, the owner of the land, was among those now gathering to greet us. He explained to me that this was his land and made it clear he was happy to donate it for the plaza. We all took a photo at this spot and then moved on to another possible location for the borehole that Adongo had selected nearby. This one had lost its marker so Adongo demonstrated his dowsing skills of which we all had the opportunity to try. No one had much success detecting water, however, Jared played a joke on the community that he did. He pretended that he had detected so much water that the dowsing stick went out of control and hit him smack in the forehead- it was a successful comedy. After a short discussion and spontaneous vote of those community members present, it became clear that the first location was the best. With that settled, we drove to the clinic where Adongo located a great site that everyone was content upon. While there, we had the chance to talk to some women and elders who danced and sang a sweet welcoming song for us before we left.
Contributed by: John Campbell
Yesterday, Joe invited us to go to church. We were unsure that we should because of all the preparation we need to do for the project. We haven’t bought a lot of the stuff that we need for both the projects. Joe insisted that we come because today was Corpus Christi 
After the parade we went to Yua for the first time. As we drove there the people seemed to be more welcoming that the other villages we went through (which I didn’t really think was possible). Almost every person we drove by was waving and some were running along side of our van. As we pulled in to the market (Yua is pretty small so the market isn’t big at all) we got out and greeted all the elders that were there and everyone that came up. We met Adongo, the well driller to check out the two possible well sites. We went to the first possible site and it was marked with a stone. We then went to the second spot, and the marking had been moved. Adongo the called for a “dowsing” tool, and David got him a forked stick. The then walked back and forth and the stick seemed to rise when he got over a certain point. I couldn’t believe my eyes! This is how a hydro geologist picks a well site! John Yatsko wanted to try and Adongo said that he had to have type A blood, and Yatsko said he did. He walked back and forth for what seemed like a half an hour and couldn’t get it. The whole thing seemed a little hokey pokey to me, but Jared assures me that there are all sorts of accredited journals on the topic. I still don’t know, but I won’t say that there is no way it could work, it just seems EXTREAMLY unlikely. After that we went back to AfriKids to get some dinner. We ate on the roof (because it was cooler) and that is the end to a very great and long day!
After the parade we went to Yua for the first time. As we drove there the people seemed to be more welcoming that the other villages we went through (which I didn’t really think was possible). Almost every person we drove by was waving and some were running along side of our van. As we pulled in to the market (Yua is pretty small so the market isn’t big at all) we got out and greeted all the elders that were there and everyone that came up. We met Adongo, the well driller to check out the two possible well sites. We went to the first possible site and it was marked with a stone. We then went to the second spot, and the marking had been moved. Adongo the called for a “dowsing” tool, and David got him a forked stick. The then walked back and forth and the stick seemed to rise when he got over a certain point. I couldn’t believe my eyes! This is how a hydro geologist picks a well site! John Yatsko wanted to try and Adongo said that he had to have type A blood, and Yatsko said he did. He walked back and forth for what seemed like a half an hour and couldn’t get it. The whole thing seemed a little hokey pokey to me, but Jared assures me that there are all sorts of accredited journals on the topic. I still don’t know, but I won’t say that there is no way it could work, it just seems EXTREAMLY unlikely. After that we went back to AfriKids to get some dinner. We ate on the roof (because it was cooler) and that is the end to a very great and long day!Day 6 (May 24)
Contributed by: Olivia
We walked to the Sirigu market at 9 am the next morning. We had egg sandwiches and 
tea at a local eatery for breakfast. Danielle and Berai adored a caramel-colored puppy napping under the table by our feet. We watched the townspeople stroll by leisurely to watch the “Solmisi” (white people) eat breakfast. A little boy with a handmade, full-brimmed straw hat walked by before sitting nearby. When we drove out of Sirigu, we saw an old man with a pile of these same straw hats on his bike. We asked the driver to stop so we could all purchase one. There was a flurry of excitement in the car when we pulled off to the side of the dirt road and the David asked the old man to sell his hats to the Solmisi in the car. Each person tried on a hat for the rugged work to be done in the hot sun until everyone was satisfied with the size and style of the hat.
We reached Bolga in its prime of the day. It was very alive with activity. We witnessed the daily orchestration of shopkeepers, consumers and street peddlers haggling for the best price of their wares. There were trenches parallel to the road that were carelessly littered with empty water satchels that sold for 5 pesowas (5 cents).
We kept notes of prices for tools and material in our moleskine notebooks. Photos were taken of the shops that offered the lowest price for the items. Other items were sourced to be borrowed from the District Chief of the Kassena-Nankana region. Some materials were priced higher than what we anticipated but it was offset by other items that were deleted from our Bill of Materials or modifications made to our designs in-country.
David took it upon himself to scout restaurants that practiced Solmisi-caliber food preparation. We had lunch at a restaurant next to a television station. There was a party of UK FSA workers celebrating a birthday beside our table. Our server was a young man about 20 years old. Traditional Ghanaian food was ordered because each plate was 4.50 GHC in contrast to other dishes that sold for 6.50 GHC. We had our first taste of banku, a thick white maize sour porridge served with the main dish.
After lunch, David haggled with more shopkeepers about the items still unpriced from our Bill of Materials. Each shop we visited was nestled between two other shops that sold a different item. Finding the right wire size and light bulb socket was a challenge. After visiting more shops in our taxi in a 1 km radius, we found what we needed and drove back to Afrikids.
The heat from the sun left its imprint on our weary bodies. Upon seeing our tired faces, Joe offered to have dinner prepared and delivered by a relative from Sirigu. The rooftop patio was revisited a second night. Joe had Aaron Denham's bag of inflatable mattresses and sheets. John Campbell took one mattress to sleep on the rooftop patio.
Everyone felt upbeat when David's boyhood friend asked John Yatsko if his daughter could join him on his morning run. She trained for us, running in circles outside and we cheered from the rooftop each time the little girl ran by the porch of Afrikids. The father would stop her to pour a bucket of water to cool her down.
The nightly meetings was beneficial for the volunteers to discuss the next day's events with each other, our shareholders, or other VIP crucial to the success of our projects. The Bill of Materials was consulted on many occasions for our financial standing. We discussed the feasibility of next summer's implementation projects after dinner with David and Joe.
Day 5 (May 23)
Contributed by: Olivia
We had breakfast at 6:30 am and left the hotel at 7:30, an hour later than we had planned. We stopped in Tamale for lunch at the Marian Hotel. We watched a Nigerian drama while we ate our jollop rice and chicken. By 3pm, we were on the road again. We stopped a couple more times to refuel and stretch before we arrived at Pok's house, Ghanaian People's Network (GAPNET) representative in Bolga and also an agricultural extension worker. We introduced ourselves and then followed him to our lodging at Sirigu. We trailed his red truck with green canopied truckbed with our rattling taxi over dirt roads. Each time there was a heavy thud above our heads, we hoped that the metal rack would not fall off the roof with our cargo. It was noticed from the first stop outside of Accra that the rack's supports bent from the heavy cargo.
We drove in the dark and could see only what the headlights could light on the road. The traditional maroon, white, and gray chevron patterns on the cement walls could be seen by the lights from the open shops. It was market day (Friday) in Sirigu. Vendors sold their wares by the light supplied by expensive grid power.
We arrived at Afrikids new office and guest facility around 9 pm. We met Joe Asakibeem, Afrikids Sirigu Operation's Manager who worked alongside EWB-NAU last summer. He greeted us with a big smile and a strong handshake. A quick panoramic view of the area hinted a handpump nearby under the trees, children pumping water, and passersby on their way home. Pok and Joe gave us a tour of the new building. It includes a library, an administrative office, a boy's room, two bathrooms, two showers, a kitchen, a supply room, and three bedrooms. We were told that we were the first guests to stay in the rooms.
The rooms were outfitted with two beds on wooden frames, a ceiling fan, a desk, and curtained windows with wire screens. Immediately, the fans were set to high. After settling into our rooms, we congregated on the rooftop patio because of the cool breeze and open air. We watched two children study by porchlight. We heard a processional of singing from people returning from a funeral. The stars could be seen very clearly and children were heard singing from a far off distance.
Amidst the local sounds, a scream was heard below the rooftop patio from one of the rooms. It was the sound of a man shocked by sticking a key into the outlet. Jared sheepishly admitted to unsuccessfully grounding electricity while we laughed at his unfortunate consequence of conducting electricity. We sat and talked before we had a meeting in one of the rooms. After the meeting, we retired to our rooms for the night. The children outside had unrolled their mats and slept on the ground under the porchlight.
Day 4 (May 22)
Contributed by: Olivia
We left Afia Beach after our luggage had been tied to the roof of our taxi by the driver and several helpers. We settled the tab with the hotel owner, Kofi, and packed into the taxi for the trip to Kumasi. We left the city in the late afternoon after we made a stop at Interplastic for the polypipe. A 150 ft-45 mm polypipe was purchased and tied atop our heap of panels. At the next stop, we purchased 6 batteries for the schoolhouse PV system. They were plastic-wrapped in case of rain during the drive. We left Accra around 4 pm in the afternoon. Oh, and just to give everybody an idea of how the shopping goes around here, it took an elapsed 4 and ½ hours to by the $90 worth of polypipe, after we had found the place that sells it.
The weight of the 12 packages of 30 kg solar panels punished the rack when the taxi dipped in the dirt potholes or swerved to miss them on the paved roads. Immediately after we'd left the city, the volunteers fell asleep when the air conditioner was turned on. We stopped on the way to have coconuts. Several young boys used their machete to cut the coconuts for us at 10 pesowas (10 cents) per coconut. We drank the water and ate the milky inside. At our next stop, pillows were bought from an Ashfoam vendor. The driver set the radio dial to news or played his tape of American R&B music artists. Beyonce was heard many times over before we arrived at our hotel in Kumasi at 9:30pm. We checked into our rooms and had a late dinner. I was very excited to watch Battlestar Galactica in an air-conditioned hotel.
Day 3 (May 21)
Contributed by: Berai
After waking from a deliciously cool sleep we met David (see photo) again and had some breakfast. Jared, John Campbell, Matt Moan,David and Isaac headed out for the city in search of materials for the project. While Dani, Olivia, John-John and I stayed at the hotel to work on project logistics. Once the guys returned from shopping we all went out into the city together and had dinner at Papaye (or Popeye's as Dani would call it) for some Guinness or fanta, fried chicken and rice. After, Papaye we went to the airport in quest for our luggage. The awaited football (soccer) game between Manchester United vs. Chelsea was on a TV outside the airport. Everyone was standing in front of it tense, excited, and yelling as the match continued. Ghanaian's are extremely excited for the World Cup 2010 to come to Africa. We got our luggage (phew!), it took awhile, but everything arrived safe and sound. Afterwards we traveled to Afia Beach and had a meeting with ourselves, David, Isaac and Akunz. Again, it was an exhausting day and after the meeting we hit the sack to get rest before our long haul up to Yua.
Contributed by: Danielle
We spent our first day in Accra shopping and planning for the project. Jared, John, Matt, and David were designated as our shopping crew and went out to battle the bustling markets of the big city. The rest of the crew stayed behind and organized the community health and project assessment plan. Later Olivia, Berai, and John Y. took a stroll to a nearby market, not entirely prepared for the advanced style haggling they met. They survived and John Y. (who had been referred to as “Peter Pan” by a local merchant boy) came back with two beautiful oil paintings at a good price. For dinner we tried the local fare and ended up at a very busy fast food joint called Papeye's (Which means “we can do it” in Twe). We were served a very delicious dinner of chicken and rice with a spicy black sauce called “shito” which provided us with laughs for the rest of the evening (our team has become very easily entertained). It stormed hard this night, the sound of the thunder and rain mingled with the frogs and ocean, made an exciting new sound, even more calming than sleep. Olivia and Berai giggled at Ghanaian TV and went out to briefly play in the warm rain.
Day 1 & Day 2 (May 19 & 20)
Contributed by: Berai
We made it! All seven of us and roughly 2,000 lbs of luggage. While at Phoenix Sky Harbor we had been carrying the weight of our tremendous amount of luggage in fear that we wouldn't pass inspection. We knew that British Airways may have easily taken one look at our load and said, “No way.” Thankfully everyone was extremely helpful and let us and all our bags on board for the long journey to Ghana. While on board, we were all entertained by the personal screens equipped with TV, movies, and radio stations for the lengthy flights. The transfer in London was a breeze minus the mad dash sprint through airport to our connecting flight. Luck or something was on our side because we made the flight when we were told we had no chance. Finally, at 8:15pm-Ghana time we arrived tired and stiff, but smiling. We were greeted at the immigration line by Akunz's delightful smile and warm hug. He helped us figure out our luggage situation (since we arrived late in Heathrow our luggage didn't make it on our connecting flight),we had to take a moment... a long moment to fill out the necessary paperwork, so we could get our luggage the next day. Finally, the moment we were all waiting for happened, we stepped outside (and for some of us) saw Ghana for the first time. We were met there by David and Isaac, our guides last year on the project. It was dark which didn't allow us to see the city and scenery quite yet but we hopped into the taxi and headed for Afia Beach, our hotel located right next to the Atlantic Coast...awesome! John Yatsko, a.k.a “John-John” had never seen the Atlantic, so in true John-John fashion he took a little swim. We were all pretty exhausted leading us to pack it in pretty early. Olivia and myself were highly entertained by Ghanaian television,but I of course fell asleep in a heartbeat and didn't open my eyes for another 11 hours. Oh, I haven't mentioned that it is H-U-M-I-D here! Fortunately, Afia Beach had AC which was nice for us “dry-heaters”.
EWB-NAU SITE ASSESSMENT: N. GHANA
August 2007
Welcome!
Welcome!
The following entries were written in the summer of 2007 by team members of EWB-NAU on thier site assessment trip to Northern Ghana, specifically, a community in the Upper East Region of Ghana called Yua. These entries chronicle their journey and the discoveries they made during that time. Please read the 2008 implementation blog for updates on this project and the EWB-NAU Ghana Project Team.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
