Read about the team’s summer progress here! (projectobodan.blogspot.com)

Mission Statement

CU-EWB Ghana strives to improve the infrastructure of rural communities to address large-scale expansion and health issues, to advocate for better health and ecological practices, and to develop a sustainable ethos of self-improvement in the communities we work with.

Current Progress

CU-EWB Ghana Program is partnered with EWB-USA, the Ghana Telecom University College student chapter of EWB, and the NGO SuDeX (Sustainable Development Extension Services). We have also received generous help from the Earth Institute at Columbia University in the form of a recently awarded travel grant for our team.  Having received approval from the Obodan community to implement the new latrines through a recently administered survey, we are currently planning the logistics of our summer trip to Ghana as well as finalizing the technical design details of the double pit urine-diverting latrine. While our focus for this year has centered on the latrines, we are also considering a new water distribution system for Obodan and will be collecting more data this summer so that we can pursue the project in more depth come autumn.

History

The Columbia University Engineers Without Borders (CU-EWB) Ghana Program began in late 2004 when the chapter responded to an application submitted by Dr. Anthony Akunzule on behalf of the community of Obodan, Ghana to EWB-USA. After assessing the community in early 2005, the team synthesized the collected data and designed several facilities to address Obodan’s needs, including a public latrine known as a Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pit (KVIP), an improved water supply system and a rain-water harvesting system on the roof of a school. Since then, the Ghana program has continued to center projects on developing solutions for water management and sanitation issues in Obodan, as well as the nearby semi-urban town of Sakyikrom. Last summer, the team traveled to Ghana to gather data and conduct preliminary feasibility studies for four potential projects based on a recent needs-assessment overseen by our mentors and Ghanaian partners. After analyzing the data, the team decided to focus on latrines and water distribution, and for this summer have chosen the latrines to be the main focus. The team also ran a successful community needs assessment last summer in Sakyikrom to initiate future work.

Communities

Obodan: Obodan is a small subsistence farming community of approximately 1500 residents in the Akuapem South District in the Eastern Region of Ghana located about 8 miles east of Nsawam next to a thoroughfare linking it to the city. Economically, the community is largely dependent on the pineapple and corn farming business. Few people in the community have any steady income and many of the residents are completely reliant on the food they grow and the limited livestock they raise. When CU-EWB first visited Obodan, the community faced very serious water and sanitation problems. They have since made strides towards adequate sanitation and water access, but the community still faces serious barriers to development.

Sakyikrom: Sakyikrom is a semi-urban town of approximately 2000 residents. Located in the same area as Obodan and directly across the Densu River, Sakyikrom is northwest of Nsawam. Most of the community members are farmers, relying on crops planted in the flood plain of the Densu River. It is a deeply impoverished community with very high levels of unemployment. Sakyikrom is currently entering a transitional phase as the construction of a major roadway through the community promises growth and development. However, the road will place enormous environmental and social pressures on a community that already has severe problems with the available potable water sources, inadequate sanitation facilities, and poor waste management practices.

Get involved in the Ghana Program!
Meetings: Wednesdays, 10:00 pm, 402 Hamilton
Program Manager: Clayton Dahlman, cjd2126@columbia.edu
Program Liaison: Lucy Stowe, lcs2123@columbia.edu
Program Secretary: Anjali Bains, akb2141@columbia.edu