Update #4: Phase II Complete, Travelers Return to AK!

August 20, 2011

8:49 AM (via e-mail)

-----

Greetings, I know it's been awhile between updates, but our travel team was extremely busy in the final days of the project. The children at the orphanage were working long and hard to finish the projects with the EWB members overseeing and guiding their efforts. The final reports for the individual portions are as follows:

-----

Rain Catchment - The rain catchment system was finished the Saturday before leaving the orphanage. The project was very smooth as some of the boys and one of the orphanage staff had previous experience in working with PVC. This was incredibly encouraging because it meant the seeds had already been planted and we only had to build on what they already knew as opposed to teaching them an entirely new system altogether. The orphanage was grateful for their rain catchment system but unfortunately we never received a large enough rain to thoroughly test the system.

-----

Electrical Assessment - Ryan completed the original electrical assessment a few days into the trip and expanded his view to include some items the orphanage would be able to fix before our next visit. The most prominent of these changes was the addition of a generator shed to the soon-to-be-completed girls dormitory. This was determined to be of great importance as it is unsure how much longer the orphanage will have access to their current rented facility. The building of the generator shed was handed over to a local mason and Ryan and Kirk oversaw the laying of the foundation and some of the initial building.

-----

Site Drainage - Kirk's ditches (swales) were completed well before the end of the trip and the children took charge of maintaining the ditches by adding additional rocks/boulders to curb the effects of erosion. Once again, we were unfortunate in that our major rains came before the ditches were dug and we were unable to determine how well they worked. However, based upon our initial heavy rains, the ditches were placed in such a way that the site drainage will be immensely improved.

-----

Water Testing - Several samples of water were taken while in country to include well water, creek water, rain water and water from the nearby Ombe river. These water samples were analyzed in a facility in the town of Four-Mile just outside of Limbe. The results of these tests will help us with any future implementations regarding water filtration and general overall health practices.

-----

Health Assessment - Patsy completed her health assessments of the village and the orphanage well ahead of schedule thanks in no small part to the overall cooperation of the village and orphanage. Patsy, Nancy, and Chuck spent the last couple days making small hand washing stations with soap connected directly to the jugs. The children seemed to take to washing their hands after Patsy had them do a small cleanup of the surrounding area. Patsy, Nancy, and Chuck also spoke to some of the orphanage staff about proper trash clean-up to help improve general well-being.

-----

The final day in Cameroon was filled with hugs and singing and a goat roast. The travelers, along with Mercy, Simon, and Gwar, traveled to Douala with a small tag-a-long named Pacito who managed to climb in the back window as we were leaving the orphanage. We enjoyed a small supper and then were off to the airport for a last round of goodbyes.

-----

Paris was a welcome retreat. The group spent the first day walking to several of the surrounding attractions that included Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and a boat ride on the Sein River. The second day was spent with the travelers going their separate ways. Ryan and Kirk went back to Notre Dame but decided the bell tower line was far too long so they went to a chapel famous for their stained glass. Kirk then went for a bike ride and Ryan spent the afternoon relaxing around the Hostel. Chuck and myself had an awesome morning stroll to the Louvre where we spent just over 6 hours enjoying the statues, carvings, paintings, and Egyptian artifacts. We then managed to brave the metro without our tour guide Nancy and made it back to our Hostel with no issues despite our extremely limited understanding of the french language. Nancy and Patsy enjoyed some of the artsier sides of Paris and strolled through some of the surrounding Paris suburbs.

-----

Our flights home were uneventful save Ryan seeming to be a magnet for Customs agents both in Douala and Minneapolis. Guess he will be sure to take his ham croissant out of his carry-on before the drug dogs come sniffing next time. Anyways, we all made it back safe and sound and will be taking the weekend to recuperate and spend some time with the family. Documents will be started next week and we look forward to sharing all of our trip with everybody. Thanks again for all the support and enjoy all of the pictures we took throughout the trip.

-----

Sean

Update #3: Rolling Right Along

August 11, 2011

2:09 AM (via e-mail)

-----

Kris, here is another live update from the field!

-----

All has been going well in Africa; Patsy has developed a fear of large spiders and has been lucky enough to have Desmond near enough to kill them whenever she stumbles on them. Thus far, the most riveting portion of the trip has been the driving conditions. Many of the children provide our comic relief throughout the day. Hollywood John is always sure for a laugh when he is making fun of the other children. Pacito and Dede are sure to be up to trouble whenever they are together. Other than that, the trip has gone pretty much as planned. Here are some updates for the various projects:

-----

Rain Catchment - The concrete slab is curing well without any cracks (which is to be expected with 95% humidity). Steve thankfully found a 5000L tank and it has been delivered to the orphanage. The gutters have been hung and tested and water flows in the right direction so that's a plus. Tomorrow (Friday) the first flush system will be assembled and connected to the tank. Then, all that remains is to have a welder come out to fabricate some sort of locking mechanism for the valve and a strapping system for the tank.

-----

Electrical Assessment - Ryan has completed his assessment work for the orphanage and has begun to draw up plans for local masons to construct a new generator room as we are unsure of how much longer the rented building will be available to the orphanage. Ryan's focus has been primarily on the buildings that are on the orphanages property. An emergency meeting was held and the decision was to purchase a generator. Ryan has been busy teaching the older boys as well as the administrators the importance of loading the generator as well as proper maintenance. Ryan has also gotten the Pump Tech repaired and the well water is flowing once again.

-----

Site Drainage - Kirk has completed the primary ditch and has constructed a secondary ditch to divert water around the boys dormitory. He plans to implement a few secondary/tertiary ditches just to ensure proper drainage and protect a few more foundations.

-----

Health Assessment - Patsy has been diligent in her observations and surveys of the orphanage and surrounding village. Her progress has been remarkable and she has generally been warmly accepted throughout the village. She is estimating in the following day or two to wrap up her work in the village and focus again on the orphanage.

-----

Side Projects - Kirk, Patsy, Chuck, and Nancy will be working on some simple bucket/valve combinations to provide the children with point of use hand washing stations. These are going to be fairly primitive and easy to replicate in the hopes that the seed will be planted and the children will waste less of the precious well water with a limited flow device. Chuck will also be attempting to educate the orphanage on the importance of trash collection. We are hoping that this will take seed and are planning to speak with the Prefect in Tiko about organizing a day for trash collection to properly dispose of waste either in Limbe or Douala.

-----

As for pictures, unfortunately I am pretty limited. I will try to drop a few onto a flash drive since I don't have a 3.5 inch floppy disc readily available to upload pictures at the internet cafe.

-----

Sean

Update #2: Project Underway!

August 8, 2011

9:32 AM (via e-mail)

-----

Hey Kris, so here is what we have:

-----

Rain Catchment - The catchment implementation is going well. Some small field fits have been implemented and only one system is being implemented due to the girls dorm not being completed and the great news that the orphanage will be on the electrical grid very soon! The concrete pad has been poured and the day was spent in Limbe purchasing materials for the catchment and electrical portions. Gutters will be hung tomorrow as well as a trip to Douala to purchase a tank and other miscellaneous materials.

-----

Electrical Assessment - The electrical system is a work in progress. Ryan has created several options for moving forward and the team is discussing each option to decide on the best choice.

-----

Site Drainage - Kirk has been making excellent progress and has almost completed the primary drainage ditch. We were fortunate enough to receive one heavy rainfall that showed us where the major flow areas were.

-----

Health Assessment - Patsy has almost completed her observations in the orphanage and has begun to branch out into the surrounding community. She is making excellent progress!

-----

Everyone at the orphanage sends their love and have been very accommodating and appreciative of our help and commitment. I must end now as our Rotary meeting begins shortly. Thanks!

-----

Sean

Update #1: Arrival!

August 5, 2011

7:20 PM (via text message)

-----

Kris, we have made it safe to the orphanage. Getting internet has been an issue on the trip. Internet is available in Douala; however, being able to access it has been difficult. We did a market assessment yesterday and the availability of supplies is looking very promising. We will be starting our projects in the morning. Mercy and the entire orphanage send their best wishes and Pocito says hi. I am not sure how much it is to send and receive texts (please don't send me a text response) but right now it is our only form of communication outside of the country. We do have cell phones but the place we purchased them from didn't give us any minutes even after multiple times of us saying we need minutes for the phones. We should have cell phone minutes purchased tomorrow. Just wanted to touch bases with you and everyone. Tell the club members we said hi and the orphanage is very grateful for all our efforts in helping them. Thanks Kris.

-----

Ryan

Welcome!

August 2, 2011

-----

Welcome fellow EWB'ers, friends, family, and supporters to the blog for Engineers Without Borders-University of Alaska Anchorage. This blog will cover updates for:

-----

What: EWB-UAA Phase 2 Implementation/Assessment

Where: Tiko, Cameroon, Africa (Rhema Grace Orphanage)

When: August 3-20, 2011

-----

Due to difficulties accessing the blog by the travelers, e-mails will be sent from the travelers to myself and I will update the blog as I receive them. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesistate to comment here in the blog, or e-mail me at khomerding@gmail.com and I will reply back to you as soon as I can. I will also attempt to post photos as I receive them. Thanks again for your continued support!

-----

Kris