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
Matt, I am truly sorry about all the difficulties you encountered today. Tomorrow will be better. You are doing such great work, work, most of us would not be able to do. I am very proud of you and your team. Lydia
ReplyDeleteMatt - thank you for all the updates. What an adventure you all are having. The photos are beautiful and inspiring, and I love how you all are connecting with the community in such an authentic way. What is engineering without troubleshooting, right? Besides, the best stories come from the troubleshooting. If everything went perfectly, how fun would that be? Deep breath, faith, hard work. Love you and miss you, Katrina
ReplyDeleteHannah, I love you gossip, Dennis and I laughed our heart out when we read your analysis for Ghanaian dancing and USA. It is amazing how you were able to do this analysis. NAU has to award you a PhD in Dancing Analysis- Smile.
ReplyDeleteGuys, Keep up the good work and have fun, do not get discouraged, I know things will be alright, you'll fix the pump and water will flow for the Yua people again. I wish to see the smiles on the faces of the community members when you are done.