Return

The Ghana trip has come to an end, and we have safely returned to Flagstaff.

We would like to extend a heartfelt goodbye to all of our new friends and acquaintances.
You will sincerely be missed.

Thank you again to our sponsors, teachers, fellow students, project alumni, in country partners, and Northern Arizona University.

Thank You!

Day 27-28: Dijya Island

Day 27: Traveling

After two days of travel, we have arrived in Dokokro, a peninsula on Lake Volta. This evening we met Dr. Akunzule for dinner to discuss our plans for Dijya island, where we will spend tomorrow night, and will hopefully be installing a simple solar lighting system. We are in the Volta region now, so travel has become difficult. Any direction we go requires crossing water, and although there are a few normal routes, they do not reach the area that we will be going. Tomorrow we will be on a boat for 5 hours in order to reach the clinic where we will be working.

Day 28: Island

We have returned from Dijya Island after a successful trip. The community's welcome was spectacular. The dancing and singing was similar to that in Yua, but had a feel of its own. The solar light installation went smoothly, although the panels look out of place on the thatched roof. Thank you to all who donated material to make this installation possible.

I am excited to see what the future holds for our relationship with the Dijya Island.

Matt

Day 25: Last Day in Yua

Our last endeavors in Yua included adding angle iron supports to the solar array structure and visiting the primary and secondary schools. Visiting the schools was a wonderful experience. We said goodbye to all of the children, thanked them for having us in their village, and told them a little about Flagstaff. We then handed out postcards and took class photos.

We left SWOPA by noon, and were sad to say goodbye. What a wonderful time we have had in Sirigu and Yua! Farewell!

Day 24: Water!

The morning began again in Yua. We sat down with a few elders and the remaining members of the Yua 6, the workers for the water plaza, and continued to discuss dry season farming. This we determined would be the drip irrigation committee. Ideas for transporting water, what would be required for maintenance, and other confusions were hashed out. Farming here is typically done through creating swamp like conditions on a plot of land. So, the idea of concentrating irrigation through a pin needle size hole directly onto a plant may have initially sounded rather absurd, but it is a tested method, and we are confident that this first pilot system will provide fruitful results.

Max then showed James and a few others a method that we had found for putting holes into the PVC using lighters and pin needles. A short while later Matt returned from Bolga with the pump and specialist for installing it. A few hours and a minimal amount of headaches later water was flowing.

In the future we hope to have the solar pump repaired and installed alongside the mechanical pump.

Anna

Day 23: SWOPA

Times here move in waves of very busy to very slow. With no internet, TV, or transportation, we get creative. Here is a poem that was written:

Chief

by: Kate and Anna

Underneath the Baoboa tree

The old man smiled

His Armani flip flops of red and green

Covered in a thin layer of gold dust

The old man's knitted hat

Held as a frame his immobile smile

His teeth shone like quartz

Breath rank as attic furniture

His eyes vacant, his mind wandered

Oh to be a man who has witnessed

The seedlings of the first Baoboa trees

A life of hardship, struggle, thirst

With roots stretching for the last drop

Toes digging in the sand

Thinking of the days of his first love

His hand clenching around his walking stick

Remembering the drummers' bangs of pangs

They could never have kept up with the pounding of his heart

Her hair braided into tight rows

As the onions in the field

With ordered prestige of a woman

Who made demands

And gave herself

So their love clings to the weathered soil beneath the trees

Refusing to be washed away

Past Few Days (20-23)

Today we made preparations for the installation of the manual pump. Despite the initial disappointment following the realization that we would be unable to see the solar pump at work during this trip, every one seems to have rallied. Everyone seems optimistic about bringing water back to the plaza, even if for now it will be pumped by hand. Another lesson for us about how to be grateful for what we have, how to have patience and take things one day at a time. Our plan for now is to return to the U.S with the pump, repair it and ship it back to Yua for the community to install it. Thankfully, this trip has been very successful in building a relationship between the community and a wide support network of technicians that they can call on for assistance when the need arises. Once we ship the pump back they should have no problem getting it up and running.

Today we had our first successful test of the drip irrigation system. We were able to get the tank running, despite a small leak which we hope to patch easily with epoxy. We set up the pipes, flushed them with water, replaced the end caps and “let her rip”. Actually, it wasn't so much a “rip” as a small trickle but that was great because that is what we were going for. We were working with a few farmers from the area who were eager to see how it was going to work. They have been very skeptical all week but I think once they saw it in action they are optimistic. The holes were the perfect size. The water seemed to be coming out at exactly the same rate as the ground could absorb it. We let it run and watched the size of the wet spots on the ground at each hole. The water covered a circle about 6 inches in diameter and maintained that size during the whole test. No run off, no time to evaporate, a success!

Kate

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The mechanical pump is on it's way, and so far the concrete base around the borehole for the pump has been set and the screws set in place. Otherwise the next big thing is that Henry had agreed to help with the installation of the old solar panels on the primary schools in Yua. We began today! The first installation had been done and shown to Patrick, one of the Yua workers, who will use the equipment and the business connections we have set him up with to continue the installation on hopefully two other schools. These solar panels will be used for lighting the schools, so the students will still have the opportunity to attend class at night (during the wet season, many students help in the fields during the day). It is great that these old solar panels are being put to good use.

In unrelated news we went to Bolga yesterday to run some errands along with feeding gas to the insatiable beast that is our van and revisiting the welder.

The other day we had dinner at Pok's house, it was a beautiful time. We were glad to see him, even though he had to drive a casket to Sirigu for the funeral we were lucky enough to witness today. Funeral's are a two day celebration here, where the entire village gathers at the family's house to drum and dance. We saw about 30 men dressed in tribal war gear holding satchels of arrows and dancing in a line around the house. Two days of this, wow; James one of the drummers looked exhausted. He has been working with us during the day and drumming all night long for the past few nights. It's a relentless fiesta! There had also been a cow killed, and it laid at the house's entrance as some of the villagers danced on it. Rock on!

Anna

And the community has given us Zamatikas (Smocks)!

Day 19: Breaking down the wall

A mechanical pump, is going to be brought to us from Ben Adongo. This is very good news. Even though repairing the solar powered system for the borehole was the primary focus, the mechanical pump is less convenient for the villagers but a much more sustainable method. Ideally we would be able to implement both into the same borehole this trip, but obtaining a functional solar pump is looking rather difficult at this time. The plans for a mechanical pump are underway.

Today in Yua we began preparation for the installation of the mechanical pump. To do this we needed to take down the east facing wall. We began by standing in front of the wall, curiously looking at it, heads tilting left and right. “How many days do you think it would take to get this down?” was questioned. One hour later, the Polytank was fully exposed, the rubble being carried away, and three tired men holding sledgehammers were breathing heavily nearby.

Patrick

Sonia a peace corps volunteer living in Sirigu met up with us in Yua today. She also joined us for dinner, and explained to us more about the unique area that is the upper east region of Ghana. We learned about Murango, a seeded plant in the area that is used to heal just about any ailment, how Shea butter is made, and many other interesting facts and stories.

Kate and I took another long walk through the village today as well, and it's strange how accustomed we've become to life here. Greeting people on the street, you're always asked the same questions “Where are you going?”, “How are you?”, “How is your body, are you strong?”. Replying in Fra Fra has become well ingrained, but as a team we are all trying to branch out to new response phrases. The time has begun to go by very fast, and it is unbelievable that our time in Yua is nearing it's end.

Anna

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With the plans for installing the manual pump underway, the drip team is working to have systems ready for when water is flowing again at the plaza. Today was another day of melting emitter-holes much to the begrime of Kate and I as the lighters we must use get extremely hot and are unreliable outside of a closed building. Despite our burned fingers we press on to finish one of our two systems soon.

James

Although we were not able to finish a full system today we have brought supplies to SWOPA and have set up a small system to troubleshoot tomorrow morning. Hopefully we won't encounter any problems and are able to build a fully functional system tomorrow, fingers crossed.

Max

Day 18: The pump

Day 18: The pump

Screeech. Bang. Halt. Kapow!

The above collection of onomatopoeia are not only here because we need to remember to get new brake pads for the van, but also as a metaphor for the Water Plaza portion of this project. We've come to a screeching halt in the finishing of the solar powered water pump. When we had assumed that it was because of the failing wooden structure that held up the panels, and the miss-operation of these panels that caused the plaza to stop working it may have been in fact that the pump had failed. We do not know for certain, though. The structure still needed to come down, and the new panels are better and far more applicable to the power needs of the plaza. The pump, though, just isn’t working which is what has been determined so far. This was found today once we had two specialists from Bolga come look at it and Henry the solar guy, along with Matt's astounding thorough knowledge of the entire system.

With Matt's calm guidance we set forth for the aid of Pok and Ben Adongo in acquiring a new pump or repairing the old one in Accra or Kumasi. A new pump would require a new control unit, and hopefully we will be able to source a mechanical pump as well. Other options are also being considered. We did source more items in Bolga today, especially for drip thanks to Solomon and his helpful enthusiasm.

From here contacts need to be reached, price assessments made, and a plan determined for getting done what we can before we leave for the south again next week. We also need to make certain of the functionality of the pump.

All in all, we are hopeful, and appreciate all the help we've been receiving from everyone involved.

Anna

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The last few days have been great for the progress of the drip irrigation system. The manifolds which will attach the system to its tank were made with relative ease (using hammers and other heavy things to tighten them) . We also started the process of melting emitter-holes into the pvc that will lay next to the crops. Having changed the design of our overall plan we will be using two separate tanks instead of one large tank, this will allow us to test out a system sooner and foresee any problems that may spring up in the second system.

After Matt, Anna, Henry & the water technicians determined the pump was damaged we moved to Bolga and sourced a few more parts for our tank (with the help of Solomon) . Tomorrow we hope to begin the final steps towards finishing one system.

Max

Day 17: Troubleshooting

Day 17: Troubleshooting in Yua

Today we continued troubleshooting on what could possibly be wrong with solar panel-to-pump connection. We pulled the pump out of the borehole and tried to consult the manual and fiddle with the wiring but nothing seemed to work. It seems that the solar panels are hooked up properly so we are assuming there is either a problem with the pump itself or with the controller that sends power to the pump. I have to say today was a little discouraging as we hoped to have water flowing by now. We have a number of technicians meeting us at the solar plaza tomorrow to take a look. Hopefully tomorrow we will get it all sorted out.

While Matt was in Bolga gathering technical support, I had the opportunity to take a bike ride into Burkina Faso to take a look at a dry season farm that is in operation there. It was really quite a sight. They really have an ingenious irrigation system worked out there which involved pumping water from the river and flooding a series of irrigation ditches one at a time. They control which ditch is flooded by placing and removing dirt barrier walls at the entrance to each channel. It is a great system if you happen to be farming near a river. 

Hopefully the drip system will be way more efficient for those who have less access to large amounts of water. After seeing the farm in operation and explaining how drip was different, I think the people of Yua are ready to try drip and they have a better idea of what to expect. They have been having a little trouble coming to terms with the face that we are going to be poking pinhole sized holes in a PVC pipe and watching water trickle out. They were skeptical at best but James (a Yua community member who has been helping out a lot with the projects) said today that though they have never seen anything like what we are talking about doing, they are ready to try. Good enough for me. Tomorrow we build!

Kate

Day 15: New Years!

We hope everyone had a wonderful new years. With many prosperous wishes for you and your family's health and happiness in 2012.

Yua brought in the new year with full force! We were very fortunate to have been able to share this day with them and experience more of the Yuan way of life. The day began once more in the pews of Yua's open window church. Another three hour service, and lucky for us, Steve (the traveler from New York) had to dance for everyone just as we did.

After the service, we went straight to the water plaza in hopes that we could get the water running for this special day. Unfortunately, once the proper connections were made with the solar panels, the pump still didn't run. So some further troubleshooting will be necessary. We didn't have enough time to continue, as we had to go back to SWOPA and prepare for the afternoon's big event!

The program for the ceremony began two hours later than planned, but that is to be expected in the timeless days of village life. There was a small arena made, encircled by chairs containing the elders, us, and Steve. Everyone else filled in the remaining chairs and the area around us. Once seated, the assembly man announced that we would have to get up and walk over to a small clearing to watch an impersonation of a tribal fighting scenario. Two men dressed in nothing but a diaper and sash of animal skin (and tennis shoes of course). They pranced around shooting arrows at each others feet. They held the innocent expression of concentration and excitement one could find on the faces of young school yard boys in an intense game of Cowboys and Indians. It was quite a show, and when they shot arrows at a nearby tree we all cheered when the target was successfully hit. This is when the appearance of the drumming group caused us to return to our seats. They thrilled us with a performance and set the evening's background music (James, one of the plaza workers among them). There were also several speeches that followed, an expression of thanks to Engineers Without Borders, with intermissions of female dance groups. Their dancing was feverish and strong. As Kate mentioned to me as an aside, which I found interesting: “its curious how dancing here resembles working, while dancing in the US seems to be more of an expression of sexuality”. Regardless, it looked like so much fun. One song had even been written for us and I noticed Veronica, the wife of one of the elders among them. How special!

Then came the EWB return speech; Matt, Moses, and I walked forward to the elders and I said a few words of thanks followed by Steve. The drummers got shooed away during the speeches so the crowd died down. As we waited for the program to continue, we began dancing with the small children.To our surprise drummers had returned and a large crowd had formed around us. Moses jumped in and grabbed my hand to pull me into the midst of the group and we danced! Oh was there dancing! It was thrilling. Next Max got pulled in, and that boy sure can move, it was the talk of the evening. 

Anna

This is blog post is approved by Belinda.

Day 14: Installing the Panels

Gafara. Sorry for the slight absence in communication. The past few days have been rather busy, and we haven't been spending too much time at SWOPA so there has been less time to spend on the blog.

Day 14: Installing the Panels

Saturday started out rather slowly because we were waiting for a welder to show up from Bolga. Joe, a friend of Pok, uses an oxy-acetylene torch which allows him to be relatively portable (he does not need the power grid, which does not exist where we are working).

Joe showed up to the plaza and immediately looked disappointed. He could not weld the thick angle iron that we were using to build the structure. I was also disappointed as the welders in Bolga had made our supports incorrectly. There was nothing more we could do about that then, so we had to move on. After deliberating with the local contractor, Moses, Joe, and the team, and hearing Pok's confidence in the strength of the structure, we decided to postpone the additional bracing. Because we cannot weld, it will have to be bolted on to the structure, so can be done after the panels are mounted without risking damage to them.

Joe was able to help us correct the level of one side of the structure before he went back to Bolga. Thank you Joe for taking a day off work to help us in Yua.

After seeing Joe and the girls off to Bolga, Max and I began working on laying out the cable for the panels while Moses painted the top of the structure. We ate a lunch of rice balls while the paint was drying, then began to mount the panels. We have carried these panels with us from Accra, so although we were disappointed, we were not surprised when one of the four was broken. Thankfully, the panel was still fully functional, so we can use it until we find a solution to the problem.

We ran out of daylight to complete the connections, so must wait to see what problem will arise next.

Matt