Update: Project Underway at the Orphanage

Muraho!

We haven’t gotten back to the blog in a while, so we have a lot of adventures to tell… Let’s start with Friday, more officially known as “Shirt Day”, since- without talking about it- every member of the team decided to wear our EWB shirts!

Friday was also the day to get the materials: some of us went to get the nice Afritanks that will be feeding the system while the rest went around Kigali, looking for pipe fittings, valves, taps and all sorts of stuff for the irrigation system. We also went to visit our partner Manna Energy to get some tools to use during the implementation of the system.

We also had some time to get some local food at a Restaurant called the Top View, where we tried the peanut soup and the matoke, a mashed banana puree. Saturday was also material’s day: we revised our master list of materials and went to a local market to get the PVC piping and fittings, as well as some construction materials.

A truck left early in the morning on Sunday, taking all the materials to the orphanage which is in Mugonero. We also left early on Sunday and made our way to the L’Esperance Orphanage. The trip was around 4 hours in the beautiful hills. Around lunch time, we got to the orphanage. Victor, the director of the orphanage, had some lunch ready for us and we ate as we enjoyed the amazing view of the mountains and Lake Kivu. Even more amazing was the night sky full of stars and the view of the region with the highest incidence of lightning in the world… That was quite a show!

L’Esperance is a great place! On Sunday we also enjoyed playing with the kids and walking around the orphanage. In the pictures you can see Andy teaching some songs and games to the kids; they really had a good time!

Monday was a work day again. We started the day walking around the tree nursery and listening to Victor’s plans. Then we made our way down to the pump house, where we could check the pumps and started brainstorming ways to optimize their functioning. Elliot spent some time working at the pump house, while the rest of the team started to lay out the pipe location so the trenches could be started.

As soon as it gets dark in L’Esperance things slow down and it is time to go play with the kids and to listen to them singing. Andy played some guitar for them and they really enjoyed it. They taught me how to count in Kinyarwanda and in Swahili, and I taught them how to count in Spanish.

Being here is definitively a great experience! I have to go help thread some pipe, so Murabeho for now. We’ll come back with more amazing stories later on :)

Lila

In Rwanda!

Muraho!

Muraho means hi in Kinyan-Rwandan. And Inanasi means pineapple. Unfortunately, I am not yet near fluent in Kinyan Rwandan, but I did pick up a few choice words from our friendly hotel cook this morning.  The cook also gave me some great advice on how to peel a hard-boiled egg – I am an awful egg peeler, so I will have to give it another go tomorrow.  For anyone interested, it’s important to give the egg a couple of taps and then roll it on a hard table rather than strategically trying to pick at it.

Cori, Eric, and I have now been in Rwanda, since Tuesday, for two nights, and Lila and our professional advisor, Elliot, just made it in today.

On our first night, Eric, Cori, and I had dinner with Peter and Innocent, a couple of our good friends and local contacts in Rwanda. Peter works for the US embassy and our cousin non-profit organization, Manna, and has an extremely relaxed and friendly attitude. Innocent, not only enjoys a glass of Sprite and Guinness but is also a computer science student at the local university and a full-time employee at Manna. Our project would not be possible without their support, and their patience and amiability makes it great working with them.

We went to a restaurant called, “The Republic”, located in the heart of Kigali. The meal was great – I had a chicken bruschette with ginger rice. I also had a glass of Mutzig, the local brew in Rwanda, which was smooth and not too hoppy. Mutzig will make it easy to cope with not having Colorado micro-brews.

Wednesday was spent running vital errands: exchanging money, acquiring cell-phones, and napping.

The real work started today. Eric, Cori, and I donned our best clothes (Eric even wore a tie) and met with Dr. Muhinda, a chairman at the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources for Rwanda. We detailed our project, the design and implementation of a water-distribution system in Mugonero, Rwanda, and learned about the work that the ministry does. The Ministry partners with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and works with farmers to develop large-scale hill-side irrigation systems. We also explored the potential to work on small-scale irrigation projects for local communities and will continue to explore those avenues.

Rwanda is beautiful. The cityscape is wonderful with ornate roundabouts and houses stacked on hills. The people have been friendly, and I even had a moment with Adilene, the hostess at the local internet café. I have found that the language barrier is not too bad, as English is common and I can communicate effectively through gesturing.

Until next time,

Ankit

Finalized Itinerary

Finalized Project Dates: May 23 - June 11

May 23: Arrive in the capital city, Kigali

May 24-28: Explore and purchase materials in Kigali

May 29: Travel to L'Esperance Children's Aid Orphanage near Kibuye, Rwanda (see Map: we'll take a bus from Kigali to the orphanage, which is located on the Eastern side of Lake Kivu, the 2nd deepest lake in the world) 

May 30-June 10: implement project (stay tuned for photos and project updates)

June 11: return to Kigali

Stay tuned for updates and pictures from the trip!

Tap Stand Build Day - Take 2

After learning from our mistakes last time and building upon the successes as well, we built a whole new tap stand with a better design and more experience. What you'll notice between this one and the last one is it is sturdier, it exposes the water pipe for maintenance if need be, and it is hopefully more aesthetically pleasing as well. Check it out!

Ankit, Josh, Cori, and Lila are working on the form work here. We revised it so that it would be a sturdier structure, especially around playful children.

One of the tricks to making the structure more sound is the proper placement and construction of rebar, which is what Josh, Cori, and Lila are working on above.

The formwork is ready for us to pour concrete!

The beautiful Cori perfecting the rebar and form work.

A much nicer, sturdier, and better final product!

Here you can see the back little spine where the pipe will run up to the tap. Should the pipe break, it will be easily accessed for repair and maintenance.

It was great fun for the whole family!

After pouring the concrete, some of us posed!

With a much better result the second time around, our team is much more confident in our ability to install a great irrigation system in June. Stick around for more updates!

Ras Kassa Fundraiser

On April 30th, we had a spectacular turnout for our fundraiser at Ras Kassa's Ethiopian Restaurant. There was delicious food, live African drumming, a project presentation, and both a silent and live auction. Thanks so much to all of you who came out to support us. We hope you'll stay in touch and follow us as we embark on this incredible journey to the heart of Africa!

The Buffet Lunch

Guests enjoyed a taste of authentic Ethiopian food that most would say is out of this world!

Team members Ankit Sharma and Simon Mostafa take a break from running the silent auction.

African Music

Everyone was able to enjoy the rhythm of the drums as we danced and sang along with this amazing group. 

The entire restaurant became our dance floor!

Thank you so much to all those who attended, donated auction items, donated time, and those who supported us in any other way. We are so grateful to you all and thank you for your graciousness. In this blog, we will show to you how your support will make a difference for so many others not just this summer, but in the years to come as well!

Tap Stand Build Day - Take 1

On Saturday, April 16th, we made our first attempt at building a tap stand model which we'll install this summer in Rwanda. While it's not possible to replicate the conditions, resources, weather, etc. which we'll have in country, practicing building our model is vital to ensuring its quality, durability, and feasibility. In other words, it was a test run for this summer.

Group Picture

(from left to right: Ankit, Jeff, Cori, Andy, Josh, and Eric). In the background, you can see our concrete mixer, which we most definitely won't have on site.

Travel team photo

(From left to right: Cori, Andi, Eric, Lila, and Ankit). Elliot, our professional mentor who will be traveling with us this summer, is not pictured. Likely he was taking care of his twin boys who he brought along for the party!

The Finished Product

Obviously, it needs work. Overall, we found that the slab was solid, but we'll need to change the position of the drain. We also really need to change to the structure of the stand (albeit we did have to improvise with old flower pots to form it.) Also, we'll need to improve concrete making as well.

We plan to have another build day after we tweak the design and go through our "lessons learned" from today. Overall, we had a lot of fun and it was a great experience for us travelers to become familiar with what we'll be implementing this summer. Stay tuned for updates on our 2nd build day!