So first of all, apologies for being so absent from blogging this past month. I have found myself travelling around the Northern Region researching the water and sanitation teams in two other districts. I also spent time in Tamale meeting with NGO's involved in watsan. I have now traveled to Accra and I am spending three days at a Ghanaian consulting firm which specializes in water and sanitation projects. This firm is called Beza-lel and you can take a look at their website here: http://bezalelghana.com/index.php
Today felt like the first day of a new job - woke up feeling excited and a little nervous about what the day would bring. I started off with directions in hand and embarked on a crazy journey through Accra to find the office located in a place called Adenta. Stage one of this journey involved asking many many strangers "Do you know where I find the tro-tro* to Adenta?" Stage two was a scenic tro-tro ride through a very rich area of Accra. I passed a golf course on the way to the office - cue culture shock for that one. Finally, I made it to Adenta, and embarked on Stage Three. This was the sketchiest of all stages as this was the part where I had no idea where to go. The plan was "Just call, and we will direct the taxi driver how to get here". Luckily the mobile network gods were smiling today and this plan worked flawlessly.
I arrived at the office and met the staff. The director of the firm has been working in water and sanitation for nearly 20 years. He started out by researching water and sanitation in the early 90's after finishing a master's degree in hydrogeology. He then went on to start Beza-lel about 9 years ago out of his home and just last year moved into their current office. Today there were four other employees in the office and one geological engineering student who is here as an intern. Additionally, there are a number of people who are placed around Ghana focusing on different projects.
Things here are serious.
I spent today reading project proposals and reports and learning more about the firms work. It has been super interesting to read projects that have been contracted to Beza-lel by district assemblies. I feel like I am getting a very interesting perspective of what happens on the ground with the implementation of these projects. Up to this point, the actual process of contracting out projects and the people involved in this process have been a mystery as it seems that the district assemblies take a huge step back once the consultant/contractors have been chosen for a project.
Tomorrow I am going out to the field to see how a borehole is sited. Everyone at the office is looking forward going out into the field...as am I. They have been saying that the field work is the better part of the job - and you know the firm is busy when they have a lot of field work to do. It is pretty crazy to compare this to the district level where field work is known to be absolutely crucial, but not often done due to a lack of resources.
Yet another piece of this complicated puzzle known as the water sector in Ghana.
**Tro-tro's are wonderful little mini-buses/vans which are one of the main forms of transportation in Ghana. Tro-tros are usually very crowded and, if you are in a rural area, prone to goats on the roof. You will undoubtedly question your tro-tro's ability to make it to its final destination...though in my experience it will get there, even if your driver need to stop the tro in order to hitch-hike in search of more fuel.
