Hey everybody! Erin, Christine, and I are sitting at the
Addis Ababa airport waiting for our flight to London and then finally to New
York. After over a month spent in Ghana, our travel team has finally completed
the Obodan water distribution system! The roadblocks and challenges seemed
endless, yet our dedicated EWB group, with the help of contractors, village
members, and countless children in the community, constructed a working water
distribution system for Obodan. Even in the last couple of days with the system
working, it seems like a huge success. The community spends less time and
effort in fetching water. They don’t have to use a hand pump to have water
anymore and many in the community now have water significantly closer to their
houses. When I first got to Obodan and saw all the work that we had to
complete, I was skeptical that the project would get completed. After all those
months and long hours both working on the design of the system and the
implementation, EWB-Columbia, Ghana chapter completed this project.
Some group members and the community while Lucas inspects the spigot
I think the most important and memorable day for me is when
the water finally started flowing. Last Wednesday (8/21/13), the pump supplier
finally installed the pump and we connected it to the system and got water!
This week started out very stressful. First off, Electric Company of Ghana took
forever to connect to the grid. Eventually Christine and Lucas had to go to their
office in nearby Nsawam to pay them and have them sign a contract saying that
they had to complete the task by the end of the day. It was an especially
stressful day because had ECG decided to come in two weeks like they originally
planned, our project would not have been finished in the allotted time we had.
Once the electric company came, they couldn’t connect to the grid because the other
electricians that we hired had made a single-phase electrical setup instead of
the necessary triple-phase. This required them to come back the next day once
it was fixed. Luckily, they did come the next day which allowed for water that
day!
One of the first times using water
Of course, the problems didn't stop there. Once we filled
the tanks up all the way, we found leaks, leaks, and more leaks at the tank
connections. We had to fix these and once we fixed these there were still a ton
of leaks. The leaks stemmed from not having quality made tanks that matched up
perfectly. Eventually, on the third try, we fixed all the leaks and the system
ran smoothly. The other work involved was building masonry over the exposed
pipes near the well in order to deter theft and protect the pipes from weather
conditions, and building concrete slabs for each of the spigot locations so
that the ground wouldn't become like a swimming pool. We also shocked the water table and both tanks
with chlorine so that the drinking water would be cleaner. After all these steps
and some other minor fixes, the system was complete!
Christine, Erin and Robbie at the tanks
Now as a chapter we face a crossroads. We have to figure out
where our chapter should go next. Obodan has developed a lot since we started
coming there about eight years ago. Other communities in the surrounding area
face many more problems. For example, in one community they only access to
water involves using a hand well that often dries up or walking ½ mile to a
river that frequently dries up as well. The team members in Ghana are all
really excited about taking a new engineering challenge and helping to improve
the lives of another community. We have decisions to make that could lead us to
stay in Ghana or possibly a new place like South America or anywhere else that
has a need that our chapter could help solve.
Erin at a finished spigot
Thanks to the students who helped with implementation: Mira,
Lucas, Kofi, Leerang, Erin, Christine, and Robbie and to the mentors: Kelly and
Martin. Also, thanks to all the EWB students who helped with grant writing,
fundraising, the design, and all the other tasks that were essential for a
successful project and finally to all the other mentors that helped guide us
throughout the project. Lastly, a huge
thank you to Sammy, the local assemblyman, who helped us with everything we
needed once we were in Ghana. This project could never have been finished
without all of your help!
Some of our group with Sammy
-Robbie
