engineers without borders from Red Canary

Chief Zack, dancing, and sharing a small bike with a large woman

Kristy Minor — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:20:41 GMT

My favorite person. The Chief of Singa.

"Kristy! It's been a long time."

I return Chief Zack's greeting. Traditionally, the chief is supposed to be greeted first, normally lower than him with your hands closed. These traditions don't really apply to me but I try my best to show respect, as he is one person that I trust and respect fully in Ghana.

I admire him and his life. I only wish I had more time to learn from him.

He tells me about an NGO that will be hosting a cultural dance for a group of westerners. Red flags start popping up in my head, with visions of white people coming for a "village experience".

I agree to come as I am intrigued with the idea of seeing where his family comes from.

I am also ready to challenge these westerners' approach.

To Singa we go

I have decided to go with Amshawu, Chief Zack's younger sister and her child Windnam , both of whom I spend a lot of time with. We board a tro-tro (passenger van) and wait a couple hours for it to fill, while sucking on some mangoes.

Me dressed in traditional Dagomba garb

Finally we are off. It takes about 2 hours or more to reach the closest village to Singa on a very rough road with large trucks carrying sand from the river banks.

We get off the tro-tro and carry luggage filled with food and water down to the river. At the river I see the pumping station which pumps water for all of Tamale (some 300,000 people) and realize the water pipe I saw along the road was the supply pipe.

After taking a course on water supply and distribution in university, I decide it's really too small. No wonder we have a water problem in Tamale.

Not just one water problem

Some small kids are splashing around in the water, and I put my dirty feet into the water and wash my arms off. I look over to another young girl doing the same, and realize that she has scars from guinea worm infections.

I immediately get out of the water, asking if it is infected with guinea worm. "Yes".

My family's Grandmothers and me

Oh god. How did you get it?

Apparently standing in the water will not do it, but drinking it will. I look over at the kids splashing around, in water up to their chins and frown.

Right. Guinea worm. Still a problem.

My mind shifts to the canoe approaching. A small but long wooden canoe, filled partially by water.

We load the canoe with all our luggage and about 6 people. We take off and I look into the water brimming the sides of the canoe.

We reach the other side, only to realize that there is no one waiting for us, only a motorbike. Singa is another 10 miles. Somehow I end up on the back of the bike, sitting behind the man who is driving, a very large Ghanaian woman, and then me and my backpack of course.

Perfect. The sun beats down on my as I try not to let my feet fall to the ground as we bump along what is not a road, and sometimes not even a path.

As we roll into Singa and I can barely

Dancers!

hold on, I see the "Salamingas" or white people. They seem to have a tractor to pull them around, looking at trees.

They all turn their heads and watch as this 3 person motorbike speeds by. I wonder what they are thinking, and smile.

I arrive in Singa at the Chief's Palace, which is a normal compound house, slightly larger then the rest. Chief Zack is exiting the house on a horse with elaborate materials and an umbrella.

There is drumming and a large following of young and old. I can not greet him, as it is tradition not to stop the Chief as he is leaving the compound.

I enter into the compound to meet the many wives of the family I have grown so close to, meeting them and many of their children over the last ten months. I am welcomed with
open arms and excitement of me finally visiting them and Singa. I am to sleep in Hardi's mothers room.

Wrapped to meet a chief

We bathe and get ready to go out, but they (the mothers) decide that I should dress up!! That's right, I had already planned a nice dress, but Hardi's mother digs through her suitcases

These dancers scared the kids!

until a shiny pink stripped cloth appears. Traditional Dagomba attire.

It is basically 3 pieces of material. They wrap the first around my waist, the next they fold over my shoulder and the last they tie around my head. I feel a bit nervous that it will fall off as I walk, but accept this challenge of being part of this family.

The attitude towards the Westerners is friendly, but when I really get down to the real feelings, people seems confused why they have come and why should they trust them. Some are not interested and others are very curious.

I am guarded and ready to defend and challenge. I walk through the main part of town and eyes are looking at me. I greet back in Dagbani, and they realize I am definitely not part of the group of Salamingas.

The festivities are about to begin, and I greet Chief Zack and his elders in front of the crowd that has gathered. I do so by kneeling down very low.

He laughs, as this would never happen in our house. I flash a smile recognizing that we have a secret that no one else knows.

I sit with the elders, with my family.

I feel part of something bigger, and realize that this is part of my community, my extended family. This is what people meant about being part of something bigger.

It is not just an individual achievement that is respected here but the success of your whole family, community and tribe, everyone
working towards the same goal. It finally sinks in, as I see it unfold around me everyday.

The event begins. Chief Zack says a few nice words and the District Chief Executive greets the Westerners and encourages that they work together for the betterment of Singa. I respect that he has come to this remote community on a weekend.

Promises, Promises

The leaders of this group give an elaborate, Western-style speech...while being filmed and surrounded by large fluffy microphones.

I will not cut the speech into pieces here, but I held my tongue at the time and got others' opinion about it. In summary, it was alot of talk about alot of things that sound nice.

Drummers from Burkina Faso

But in the end, who asked for these things? It was not the community.

For the most part, what was spoken about was not achieveable in most of these people's lifetimes – if at all. I am frustrated and ready to challenge all of these promises.

I take a deep breath and realize that this is part of being a development worker, to challenge other's ideas, as well as mine. I will get feedback from others, and present that to them, but also learn more about their mission.... or I will at least try.

When in doubt, dance!

Then the dancing begins and I have a good time with Amshawu, Achiri and Baba Alhassan.

I have never been witness to such a great event of dancing and music from so many different areas and countries. People were there from all over Ghana, Burkina Faso and Niger. I was definitely impressed.

Afterwards, I met up with some of the dancers from Niger, and they invited me back to their place for tea. I had to turn it down, as I was supposed to be back at the family house for
dinner.

I was disappointed but excited to spend some time with the family here.

Windnum dressed in his Friday outfit

I went with Amshawu to pump water from the borehole (which the NGO installed - one point NGO). As I sat with the women waiting for our turn, we spoke Dagbani. Although I stuck out, it wasn't like the other white visitors.

The women made fun of them and I and laughed and felt like I was part of the group. I realized the importance of integrating with the community: touching their culture and understanding their ideas and feelings.

It's given me a totally different and amazing perspective.

Community change, personal growth

I spent the rest of the weekend enjoying time with the family, visiting people in the community with Amshawu, and trying to push the Westerners' idea about development.

What are they doing here? Is it the RIGHT thing? How do they know?

On the last night I thought about EWBs approach – humble enough to question our own approach, but strong enough to challenge others.

So much of what EWB has encouraged and coached me on stands out – integrating with your community, understanding rural poverty, asking good questions, and listening.

I feel that there is no better place for me. There is still work to be done.

I fall asleep under the stars, in the middle of the compound surrounded by the rest of the community.

To Benin and Back

Kristy Minor — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:50:16 GMT

We entered a country where we don’t know anyone, don’t speak the language, and are gunning towards an unknown destination while wearing jeans and a t-shirt and holding a passport and $50

Togo, to go.

I chose to renew my Visa in Togo, as I was close to the country's border and spectacular mountains. I was excited to get closer to them and maybe get a peak inside a country I knew relatively nothing about. I set out with a friend on the back of a motorbike to the border, wondering if I would survive the 30 minute ride on a very rough road. We flew to the border and, sore from the ride, stumbled over to meet some very friendly Ghanian Immigration personnel. There was a problem, I needed a Togo Visa. No problem, I thought, I could pay for the VISA at the border, enter, and return to Ghana. Easier said than done, at this border (Natchamba) they didn't issue Visas (apparently the demand is not high, since who really crosses this way except traders and food trucks who pass freely). We try to go and see if they will just give me the in and out stamps I need.

A false start

We walk across the border and find a translator, since none of us speak French. The Togo Border police say “ C’est Impossible! No Visa, no entre” which my basic French does not want to understand. What option do I have now? Apparently just one. There is another border post that issues VISAs. Hurray! Only I will have to enter Togo (which they will allow, go get the VISA and come back). It's 25 km away. My friend says its too late and we should come back early one morning and try. I agree, not wanting to travel back in the dark, nevermind into Togo. We head home on the bumpy road arriving just as the orange sun sets.

25k becomes 110k

3 days left on my VISA, and a few days spent trying to get back to Zabzugu (nevermind Togo)

We have no money to get back to Ghana if I give him the 20,000 CFA. No money for fuel or water, which is more important I don’t know. Without either I am sure we can not make it back.

That morning we convince some unlucky person from work to take me to the border and see what we can do about getting this VISA. We meet the same friendly immigration personnel and story at the Togo border. So, we will go to the other place and get the VISA. How do we get there? In broken English and French - Go to Kara, then Ketao, then arrive a la Kajerimerda. That sounds far, how much time to reach? He does not know. He has never been. Ok, how many kilometers? “quatre-vingt-cinq”. I draw on the wall slowly eight and then a five. Oui- 85 kilometers to Kara! Then vingt-cinq to Kajermida. Mill-dix. 110 km straight as he points down the road. I say to the other side of Togo! Oui, Oui - Togo/ Benin border. Our jaws both drop and I see the predicament I am in: 2 days left on my VISA and a far away Burkina Faso border. They won’t seem to budge or ask for a bribe to use the stamp I can see sitting on the desk. We finally agree what the hell let’s go and try. But now the problem is lack of funds, we turn back to Ghana and manage to get together 20,000 CFA (400,000 Cedis or $53 CDN) which is supposed to be 10,000 for the VISA and 10,000 for extra insurance. We cross over and start driving literally across Togo on their perfectly tarred road. 110 kilometers to go. We pass village after village, bush and tarred road. The sun is beating down on us and it sounds like the desert as portrayed on television with the sound of burning and buzzing. I think to myself, we just entered into a country wearing nothing more then jeans and a tshirt, my passport and $50, into a country where we don’t know anyone, we don’t speak the language, and are gunning towards an unknown destination.

Don't leave home without h2o

But our biggest mistake was having no water. We had no water. We went along and I started to feel the burning on my shoulders, my lips and throat dried. We passed mountains which were covered in trees and natural rock outcrops, villages that resembled Ghana only more spread out, cattle herders and boreholes, women wearing no shirts and many children and youth wearing tan school uniforms. Kara 85, 65, 45, 20, 10, 5. Kara! We enter this large city only fast enough to leave it behind, another seemingly endless 25 kilometers and we reach the Togo/ Benin border. We are happy and I know I am exhausted, burnt and dehydrated.

An International financial crisis

The border officer speaks some English. He takes my passport and says 15,000 CFA for Visa. I am happy I brought extra and hand over the money. Then he says, You are Canadian? Yes, Then you must pay 20,000 CFA. Shit. We have no money to get back to Ghana if I give him the 20,000 CFA. No money for fuel or water, which is more important I don’t know. Without either I am sure we can not make it back. After arguing with the police, the commander comes and we settle that I will pay 18,000 CFA and they will pay the extra 2,000 CFA so we can get back to Ghana. We accept, take the VISA and passport and fly back to Kara, get a litre of fuel and a litre of water, costing us 1,000 CFA. We fly back to Ghana side faster than we came and wave to people who have helped us along the way. We get back to the Togo / Ghana border after 5 hours, with some very sore bottoms. They use the stamp I wanted to steal and stamp me OUT of Togo, we walk over to the other side, where they stamp me back IN to Ghana. We use the last 30 minutes to travel back to Zabzugu over our rough road, and reach home in time for the District Assembly to listen to our story.

Engineers Without Borders -- help starts at home

Cristina Howorun — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:08:00 GMT

We may not be able to save the world with a cup of coffee, but the team behind the Waterloo professional chapter of Engineers Without Borders wants us to try. Engineers Without Borders (EWB) helps developing communities abroad better their circumstances by establishing water sanitation projects, bringing new revenue models to agricultural businesses and empowering people though technological education (read EWB overseas volunteer Kristi Minor’s Red Canary blog on her experiences in Ghana here).

You don’t need to go overseas, you don’t need to be an engineer,” says Jonathan Fishbein, chapter leader. “We call it the impact chain. Seemingly small [actions] can actually have a ripple effect.

But work abroad must start at home, and the Waterloo chapter aims to make it start in your office and grocery cart as well. From students to teachers Established in fall 2006, EWB Waterloo's professional group is somewhat of an outgrowth of its University of Waterloo chapter. Many of the founding members were or are still involved in the student chapter. The chapter’s primary activities focus on public and workplace outreach. Their public program starts with lectures presented at community centres.

George Roter and Parker Mitchell - Co-Founders of Engineers Without Borders Canada

Past speakers include EWB Canada co-founder and co-CEO George Roter. Mike Gerbis, president of the Delphi Group, delivered an “inconvenient truth” lecture. “We’ve had more than 100 attendees at some of these events,” boasts the chapter's leader, Jonathan Fishbein. Seeding good ideas at work The workplace workshops, or ‘lunch and learns’ are more detailed and participatory versions of their lecture series. “We have several themed workshops. One of ours deals with linking actions here to impact overseas,” starts Smith. “Buying fair trade coffee for example, ensures that the people producing the goods are getting paid an equitable wage and getting an investment in their community.“ The workshops generally involve brainstorming activities and mini lectures on various situations abroad. While recruitment and donations are always welcome, “We don’t look so far as to a call to arms, but we do look for simple solutions that can be done here, like buying fair trade coffee or writing a letter to an MP,” explains Smith. Following one such workshop, CH2MHill organized a week-long fundraising campaign to benefit EWB Waterloo and Water for People.

“Small things you do at home can really have an impact abroad. It really does have a ripple effect. Buying fair trade products might not seem like much, but if more people did it, and did it more often, then we would see greater change,” says Fishbein.

Attendees may be looking for more hands-on work that can be done on Canadian soil, such as programming or systems design, but the chapter discourages people from taking on such tasks without a better understanding of the community’s needs. “If you go to a rural developing community and you try to give everyone a cell phone and think that’ll help in any way, it won’t,” adds Smith. “It won’t be the most appropriate technology. But, if you go in and try to improve their plough, that’ll be more useful and more appropriate for them.” Different countries, different solutions For Fishbein and Smith, generating awareness about the complexities of poverty and encouraging Canadians to think about the small things they can do at home is equally important as digging a well in Africa. “When you live in Canada, you approach these issues with a Canadian problem-solving method. But Canadian solutions don’t always work abroad. Really what we try to do is have people that are working “on the ground” actually work on the ground. You really need to have an understanding of what a community’s needs are (if you’re going to develop) the right solution,” explains Fishbein. In fact, only a handful of Waterloo’s members are or will be gong abroad. Sarah Lewis, one of the chapter’s founding members, is one of the few working “on the ground” in northern Ghana. “Her project is to promote farming as a business. A lot of the farmers in northern Ghana are subsistence farmers and don’t sell their good at markets. They are literally eating hand to mouth,” explains Fishbein. While Fishbein will be heading on a 13-month long project this summer, he doesn’t think he’ll be applying his skills as a software engineer. “I don’t know where I’m going or what I’ll be doing, but I know I won’t be doing any software development. It’s just not a required skill or necessity in the country I’ll be visiting.” But before gets his hands dirty, Fishbein and other volunteers will keep working hard to help Canadians keep their conscience clean.

Education is not just a school

Kristy Minor — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 21:13:25 GMT

Kristy Minor is an environmental engineering graduate working in Ghana as part of an Engineers Without Borders initiative. Currently working with Community Driven Initiatives for Food Security (CIFS) she is co-ordinating projects and helping to build the capacity of local government and its sub-structures. Kristy will continue to share her experiences and challenges on Red Canary Before I came (to Ghana) I assumed that if there were more school facilities and teachers that a country would be well on its way. These were very simplistic assumptions, and I am learning the hard answers now. If I think back to my grade school days in Canada, I can remember being walked to school by my mom or older school kids, I remember going to school and feeling like I wanted to know everything, I remember parent teacher meetings and report cards. I remember playing sports, recess and kissing boys behind the playground. I remember going home at night and doing homework, I remember being rewarded by my teachers, parents and grandparents, and I remember that when I grew up I wanted to be a Teacher, an Architect, an Engineer. In Ghana, I see something different. Children here are motivated to learn like all children: they are curious and soak up information like little sponges. The only problem is, who are they soaking it in from? There is a huge lack of qualified teachers in Ghana, especially in the Northern Region. From the statistics I have seen from Ghana Education Services in some areas more than 50% of the teachers employed are not “qualified”. This means someone with a Grade school or high school education is teaching levels they have only just past. Why are there not enough teachers? There are school facilities (some of them however are not proper structures, and can even be open air schools, gathering under the shade of a large tree). There are parent teacher meetings but only at some schools. But here is the bigger problem - Parents are not motivated to send their children to school! In Ghana, children are often used for a number of income generating activities -- like selling bananas on the street, to working on their farm, to leading around the blind begging for small change. If that has not held the child back, and they are in school, they could very well be doing these activities at night, weekends and even pulled out of school during certain seasons. If a child is in school, there is still lack of motivation or involvement of the parents in studying and homework. These also entering a bigger cycle, because some parents are not literate, do not understand English and truly cannot give in that way. Also because of religious beliefs within the Muslim community, there is much more pressure for their children to attend Islamic school, as it is believed that it is more important to learn Arabic than to study English, Math and Agriculture. If they pass all these obstacles, some are left with a huge hurdle. English is the official language of Ghana, but there are many many different tribes in Ghana, each with their own unique language. The majority of children will grow up with their tribe language as their first language. This makes learning extremely challenging and can be discouraging. Imagine learning in English at school, speaking Dagbani at home and than going to Arabic classes at night. Did I mention you also have to take a local language class at school and in addition French? If you are a girl child, you are even less likely to make it to school. If you do, your chances of making it into Senior Secondary (like high school) are pretty slim. Girls here are married off before they even reach this age. Girls in Junior School are already involved in relationships and have older boyfriends (men). The culture of dating much younger woman has definitely set back females in gaining a proper education. For me, part of growing up was figuring out what I wanted to be and where I wanted to go, and in large part I am still asking myself that. Here, it seems, that part is missing. It's part of a bigger cycle, which is unemployment, especially among the youth. If you cannot see where you want to go, why are you motivated to do it? If you know that at the end of the day you will get whatever you can, why would you set yourself up to fail in an impossible situation. My spirits went to an all time low when I asked my best friend here, a boy of 15 years old, what he wanted to do when he grew up. He said “I don’t know, I will let my brother fill that part out’’. And the cycle continues.

What it's like to be “Overseas”

Kristy Minor — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:32:22 GMT

Canoe, Bike and All!

The “overseas” I am talking about is here, in Ghana, specifically in East Gonja. There are no seas that run through Ghana, but when the rainy season hits it cuts off communities from their District Assembly (local government), and roads to market and hospital facilities. The rainy season is usually from May until July or August, and during this time the river levels rise, the low areas fill with water and communities are cut off. In East Gonja, there are areas that are divided literally by the Volta River that cuts off a large section all year round. These parts of the District are accessible in 3 possible ways: 1. Cross the River in a Ferry that is very old and could be on its last run at any time 2. Cross the river in a canoe (with your motorbike too) 3. Drive around the lake through other districts -- taking hours to get to communities on the other side.

The Path to the River

I'm from Welland, Ontario. Driving around the lake would be similar to Welland having no bridge across its canal; you'd have to drive to St. Catharine’s to Fort Erie and back into Welland to get to the other side (on a motorcycle traveling unpaved roads). This is the reality of field workers and government workers here in East Gonja. Imagine trying to schedule a project, or field visit during this time of year. It makes it nearly impossible during these months to mobilize to these communities. Now imagine you were a farmer going to market with only a bicycle, or a bucket to carry on your head. My family in Tamale comes from Sung, a small village in Tolon just north of Tamale. For them, going to the village during the rainy season means hiking in knee deep water for an hour, then getting into a canoe and finally getting to the bank and walking to the village. I have never been to Sung as it has been the rainy season during my stay, and they do not think I can endure the trip. I think they are right. I cannot imagine living in one of these communities and the difficulties during these months. Being overseas is one thing, but being overseas and cut off in your own country is a struggle that I will never fully understand.

Engineers Without Borders

Bessie Schenk — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:07:48 GMT

Given its accomplishments, you'd think Engineers Without Borders would have been born on a laptop, or at worst a binder. Instead, it came into being on a napkin - as two University of Waterloo graduates scrawled their dreams of bringing engineers together to fight poverty. Or perhaps it's apropos that an organization that builds self-sustaining communities would spring from a tabletop. Either way, seven scrappy years of hard work have blossomed into Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Canada, an organization with over 27 000 members working on human development projects around the world.

George Roter and Parker Mitchell - Co-Founders of Engineers Without Borders Canada

Architects of Hope A non-profit organization, EWB Canada's mission is “to promote human development through access to technology”, with a focus on rural energy, agriculture and sanitation. When EWB volunteers travel to other nations, they work with locals to produce multi-functional tools that take advantage of local materials and can be reproduced without the engineer’s presence. They do not impose first-world technologies or North American ideology, but use partnership, information sharing and mutual respect to help communities.

Ramy Nassar - Waterloo Professional Chapter President

“[We aren't] going to build a well, but rather figure out why the people aren’t building the well,” emphasizes Waterloo Professional Chapter President, Ramy Nassar. While not all volunteers travel overseas, those that do are asked to make a commitment-EWB placements are not “development tourism” projects; junior fellowships have a four-month minimum and long-term placements start at 13 months. "It is a life-changing experience when you spend 13 months overseas and live in a village on $1 a day," said Nicolas Kruchten, an EWB volunteer.

A treadle pump engineered from bolts, rubber and planks helps increase yields in drought-prone Zambia

Partnering for change EWB Canada does not typically initiate its own projects, but rather partners with organizations who have a need for its volunteers and expertise. Recent partnerships include one with UK based organization Wateraid, another with a non-profit group in Zambia, and a third with the Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture. EWB Canada has also partnered with the Canadian Council for International Cooperation in an effort to bring the engineer’s perspective to the Make Poverty History campaign. How software engineers can make a difference Going overseas is not feasible for many professionals, but engineers from all disciplines can still contribute. Nicolas Kruchten, the organization's Director of Technology, launched myEWB in 2005. It is the first community-based online system for Engineers Without Borders Canada.

Nicolas Kruchten – Director of Technology, EWB Canada

Software engineers have given EWB tools that help it mobilize both online and off. myEWB includes discussion boards, an event manager tool, and a member database among other tools. “Although a lot of the technology used [overseas] is low tech, EWB needs software engineers. [It] may not be a sexy way of working, like on a laptop in the middle of Africa, but it is a way to apply the skills that they have,” says Kruchten. EWB Canada’s Scala Program involves all facets of engineering. Scala works to improve employment opportunities for underprivileged youth in the Philippines by establishing Computer Livelihood Training Centres. Driving change What the two founding engineers felt when they started their hand-drawn dream still holds true for the organization today: It is not enough to want change - it is necessary to go out and make it happen.

“For EWB to drive change, to see a world free from extreme poverty, we must be impact-focused, be global citizens, be people, be rigorous, be independent, BE change.”

In the end, that lonely serviette has served humanity well. If you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities at EWB Canada, please contact the head office at: E: info@ewb.ca P: 1.866.481.3696 W: www.ewb.ca For city-based chapters, please visit the following websites: Toronto Professional Chapter University of Toronto Student Chapter Waterloo Professional Chapter email: waterloo@ewb.ca University of Waterloo Student Chapter Ottawa Professional Chapter Carlton Student Chapter Montreal Professional Chapter McGill University Student Chapter