Nuba Water Project - Water Source Blog

Crisis in the Nuba Mountains

2011-10-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

After South Sudan gained independence on July 9th, the government in Khartoum began another brutal repression of the Nuba people living in South Kordofan, which remains part of northern Sudan. UN, and other reports, speak of mass killings of civilians, indiscriminate bombing, burning of churches and persecution of opponents to the Islamist regime led by the dictator Omar Bashir. Bashir is under indictment by the ICC for war crimes in Darfur. He is now recreating that genocide in the Nuba Mountains.

Unable to complete water projects in the Nuba Mountains at the present time, we have dedicated proceeds from this year’s Walk for Sudan to four items the survivors of the current genocide have requested: water, medicine, soap and salt.

Corner of Hope

2010-04-18T03:55:00.000-07:00

Steve Riley is back in E. Africa after spending six weeks in the USA tending to business with TSC Global and Nuba Water Project. This time I am in Nakuru, Kenya a large town approximately two hours northwest of Nairobi.

Thanks to a conversation Nuba Water Project Board member Sherilee Selby had in the Nairobi airport last year, TSC Global (a spin off from Nuba Water Project whose mission it is to promote rainwater harvesting thin shell concrete

roofs throughout the developing world) has secured a contract to build a Montessori School at an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp on the outskirts of Nakuru. Sherilee met Montessori teacher trainer and project manager Dipika Lakhani at the airport in Nairobi where Dipika shared her vision of pre-schools for the children of IDPs at locations throughout Kenya. The Nakuru project is dubbed "Corner of Hope" and will serve over 250 children in its first phase. TSC Global will build 22 hypar roofs to create this much needed facility. Work began in mid April and will extend to June 2010.

I am the fortunate beneficiary of Montessori International's hospitality. Working with their partner, the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru, I have made my home at the Diocese pastoral center just a few kilometers from the Corner of Hope project site. What a gorgeous location it is!

Enjoy the photos and stories as we proceed with the construction of the Corner of Hope Montessori School!

Best wishes,

Steve

Update From Juba, S. Sudan

2010-02-13T02:43:00.000-08:00

Our return to Juba is sweet in renewed friendships with the people here but also HOT with temperatures over 100 degrees in the shade. Life in the dry season here is hot and thirsty. What a vivid reminder of the importance of our work to bring “water and life” to the people of the Nuba Mountains! We are here to manage the opening of our guest house and prepare for our travel to the Nuba Mountains next week. There are no overland routes from Juba to the Nuba Mountains so we will fly courtesy of the World Food Program. Flights are only $200 per leg and are available to humanitarian organizations working in Sudan.

The Juba guest house is a project growing out of our hypar roof construction from last year. After completing two demonstration hypar roofs here last September, we decided it made sense to take advantage of the extraordinarily high room rents in Juba (over $200 per night) and open a guest house that will spin off income to help defray some of Nuba Water Project’s administrative expenses. The guest house was completed by a new venture, TSC Global, that was established to promote rainwater harvesting thin shell concrete roofs here in Sudan as well as other locations in need of low cost, durable shelter. Although Nuba Water Project and TSC Global are totally separate entities, they share a common vision of hypar roofs being a next generation construction method replacing old fashioned iron sheet roofs that are so common in the developing world. Steve Riley, Executive Director of Nuba Water Project is a founding partner in TSC Global and brings a wealth of experience in hypar roof construction to the new organization.

TSC Global and Nuba Water Project, in partnership with NGO partner Earth Assistance Foundation, recently finished a joint roof project in Arusha, Tanzania where they refurbished a large toilet block building serving a local primary school. By pooling contributions of labor and bricks from the local community, individual designated donations supporting the Arusha project, Nuba Water Project and TSC Global funds and a special grant from the students and parents of Coyote Creek Elementary School in Highlands Ranch, a dilapidated toilet building was transformed into a beautiful and fully functional toilet block for the 250 students and staff of Kirenga Primary School. We hope that joint ventures of this kind will be commonplace as Nuba Water Project and TSC Global work side by side to promote this exciting technology.

After a few days here in Juba, we will fly to Kadugli the state capital of Southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountain State. Our mission there is to pave the way for our Bilo project by meeting with interested government agencies and local contractors who will help us drill a bore hole well and construct two irrigation ponds. For Nuba Water Project aficionados, you will recognize the name Bilo as we have been working with this community for several years. Thanks to generous grants from Sisters of Charity and Denver Rotary Club 31, we finally have the funds to begin a long awaited water infrastructure project bringing life giving water to a community almost completely lacking a water source. The women of Bilo walk 6 hours each day to the nearest village with a clean water supply. Our Bilo project will help make this kind of daily search for water a thing of the past.

Keep your eyes on this blog over the coming months as we share photos and stories about our work here in Sudan.

Back to Africa

2010-01-18T10:16:00.000-08:00

Nuba Water Project is back in Africa! We've been here since January 5, 2010 spending time in both Nairobi, Kenya and Arusha, Tanzania before traveling to Sudan where we will be working for most of the first half of the year. This is our fourth work trip to Africa and it is full of promise! Thin Shell Concrete (TSC) rainwater harvesting roof projects in Nairobi and Arusha, the completion of our Guest House and Nuba Water Project office in Juba, S. Sudan and our long awaited return to the village of Bilo in the Nuba Mountains. With grant money from Sisters of Charity and Rotary, we will transform Bilo through the completion of a new water well, two irrigation dams and TSC rainwater harvesting roofs. What an exciting time it is to be here in E. Africa!

Right now we are in Arusha, TZ working on a TSC project for Kirenga Primary School. Kirenga is a school we visited last year while briefly in Arusha. They have no local supply of drinking water so our TSC rainwater harvesting roof will be a real blessing to the students and teachers here. The roof will cover a new toilet block that provides the schools sanitation facilities. Rainwater will be collected via a unique combination of TSC roofs and a brick gutter system designed by our host, Brad Warren, Executive Director of the Australian charity Earth Assistance Foundation. Brad is an 8 year veteran of humanitarian work here in Arusha and has built or completed major renovations on a dozen or more schools in the region. He is a strong and welcome partner to Nuba Water Project!

The students, teachers and parents of Coyote Creek Elementary school in Highlands Ranch, CO deserve and extra special mention in this blog. It is due to their generosity that this project is underway! Raising $1,000 last November, they provided us the funds to launch the TSC rainwater harvesting build at Kirenga Primary School. This blog post is for you!! Thanks so much for your support.

Much more to come in the next few weeks and months!

Gratefully,

Steve Riley
Executive Director
Nuba Water Project

Transformation

2009-09-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

Life in the city of Juba is vibrant. Since the truce was signed in 2005 ending two decades of civil war, Juba, the capital of South Sudan, has sprung back to life. If traffic is a measure of the economic health of a region, then Juba and its environs are doing very well indeed. The roundabouts on the road to downtown Juba are clogged with cars, motorbikes, landcruisers, and trucks from early morning until late afternoon. Although most roads are unpaved and strewn with deep potholes, even that is changing. Everyday, sections of roads that were nearly unnavigable because of standing water and craters, are visited by heavy road construction equipment that smoothes and fills in the road surface. Juba’s roads are slowly but surely being transformed

Transformation is what Nuba Water Project is about here in Sudan. We are bringing positive change in many ways large and small. It is easy to see the changes in Adam’s compound since we arrived. What was a swampy patch of land along the western fence is now home to

two sturdy Thin Shell Concrete (TSC) rainwater harvesting roofs. With hotel rates here in excess of $150 per day, the guest house we will build under the roofs will bring welcome income to our gracious host Adam and his family. (Adam has not received a salary from his job with a government ministry in over 6 months.) Another benefit is that Nuba Water Project staff and volunteers now have a place to call home during visits to Juba, saving our organization thousands of dollars in travel expenses each year. If that were not enough, the compound now has another source of clean water during the rainy season.

Other changes are less visible but no less important. Declaring Adam’s compound a “litter free” zone transformed the grounds from one covered with soggy scraps of paper and plastic bottles to one where you can scarcely find a scrap of debris anywhere on the premises. What is more telling is seeing people hold onto trash until they find the trash can rather than simply tossing it on the ground! Gossim, one of our early converts, stooped down to pick up a stray cigarette but this morning – a small thing perhaps but, in terms of the norms here in Africa, a huge transformation in attitudes about caring for one's physical surroundings.

Our work crew of three has also changed from novices to experts in TSC construction. As I write this blog sitting under the first roof, they are busily fabricating the second. I am the coach sitting in the dugout while these three are playing the game – and winning! In fact, they are teaching me how to build these simple structures even better. Their new ideas and improvements are found all over the hypar roofs. Thanks to our supporters, these men now have a new trade, one that we expect to be in high demand as TSC construction gains popularity. Their incomes have already improved dramatically from the wages we are paying them to work on the roofs. And Alex, the foreman, is now equipped with over $500 of new tools provided by your generous donations. What a change for him who had nothing but a rusty saw and sporadic day labor prior to working with Nuba Water Project on our TSC build.

We wrap up this trip to Sudan in just a few days. Just a few more meetings and a few more layers of TSC concrete to go! Later in the week, we have a presentation and site visit with Southern Sudan Microfinance Development Facility and a follow up meeting with PACT/Sudan. Then off to Nairobi for the return flight. It will be good to get home to family and friends after a little over a month on the road.

Nuba Water Project is returning to Sudan in December for a TSC workshop in Khartoum sponsored by two NGOs working with displaced people in need of permanent housing and water. Shortly thereafter, we travel to the Nuba Mountains to continue our work in the village of Bilo. Two water wells and an agricultural pond are scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2010.

Thanks to our Nuba Water Project community for making the transformations we've witnessed during this short trip possible!

Best wishes from the city of Juba,

Steve & Sherilee

Teach Them to Build

2009-09-04T03:26:00.000-07:00

I am watching a transformation. Since Steve and I returned to Juba from Khartoum, the construction of one roof has taken place at "warp" speed. The team of three and Steve were working with determination through the heat and the moisture long before we visited Khartoum. And those of us not on the crew, but cheering them on, have pitched in to stretch the fabric for stapling or to pull the chicken wire taut over the fabric or to pound the staples firmly into the wood.

I have watched Steve train and teach these men in the process of completing one panel on the four-panel roof. I have seen the men ready and eager to work each morning by 7:30 am. Of course, we are paying them for their work, but the impact of meaningful employment on a person's dignity and self-esteem is of immeasurable value. We know that.

On Thursday, and again today, the crew seems to have taken on the power of this job for themselves. Steve is observing, and intervening when he has a suggestion, but his role has become that of a coach or a mentor. Ronnie, Gossam, and Alex have become the experts. They completed the quilt-stitching of the chicken wire to the fabric in record time on the second panel. They simply attacked the process of the third panel. And I would bet that while I am writing this, they have begun to panel the fourth section.

Of course, the training/learning process has made a difference. Steve has trained and coached, the crew has learned. But I am seeing something more, and it just struck me this morning. The
men believe that they know how to build this roof. They no longer wait for Steve to show them what step comes next, or what tool to pick up, or even how to use the tool. They know how tightly the fabric must be stretched on the wood frame. They have mastered how to weave the lengths of chicken wire together with binding wire. They have learned the distance needed between the wire stitches holding the chicken wire and the fabric together to form the quilting pattern. When I watched Gossam confidently stapling and then hammering the staples tight this morning, I felt proud of him. More important, though, I could see that Gossam was proud of himself and confident in his new skills, his new knowledge.

You know where I am going with this. This is the story of the teacher, the counselor, the coach, the parent, the mentor in any situation when learning takes place, new skills are developed.
Yet it is more. Each TSC roof that Nuba Water Project can support means shelter and protection from the sun and the rain. With walls, it means safety and a home for a family, or a sense of belonging in a community center, or a source of income as a guest house. With rainwater harvesting capability, it can mean clean, safe water for drinking, cooking, bathing, cleaning. When built, it will also have provided knowledge and skills and an employment option for the builder. You have read about the peace-building component in some of our previous blogs. This roof construction process links us not only to water resourcing, but also to meaningful employment with a peace dividend.

The Walk for Sudan on October 18th is our opportunity to build Nuba Water Project so that we can build thin-shell concrete roofs with rainwater resourcing throughout Sudan and in the Nuba Mountains. Register and come walk with us, or donate through our website.

Salaam,

Sherilee and Steve

Your Travel Papers Will Be Ready Tomorrow

2009-08-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has seen the poster in the local pub "Free Beer Tomorrow" knows that the free beer never materializes as tomorrow becomes today and, of course, the beer is only free tomorrow. Sherilee and I feel a little bit like we are living in that weird loop here in Khartoum. We were told today that our travel papers will be available tomorrow. Based on two years experience with the bureaucracy here in Khartoum, we already know that tomorrow never arrives and neither do the travel papers because they will only be available "tomorrow". We've already made plans to leave Khartoum, you guessed it, tomorrow. We will either have our travel papers and leave on a bus for Kadugli at noon or we will leave on a flight back to Juba to return to the TSC roof project there.

In spite of the travel papers issue, our time here in Khartoum has been very fruitful. We visited with old friends from the Inaam Hotel who have so kind to us over the years. We were even invited to "break fast", "iftar" in Arabic, at the family's home in North Khartoum. What a special evening that was as we feasted on Sudanese food and observed the prayer rituals that are at the heart of muslim life especially during the month of Ramadan.

Even though the Rotary Club of Khartoum does not meet during the month of Ramadan (everyone is fasting from dawn to dusk), we were invited to "iftar" at their regular meeting place in the Hilton hotel coffee shop. It was great to meet Rushdi, incoming Rotary President and our Rotary connection here in Khartoum, face to face for the first time. The club here is reviewing our grant proposal and we feel very hopeful they will agree to partner with Nuba Water Project and Denver Rotary Club 31 on our work in Bilo village.

Today, Sherilee and I met with Fellowship of African Relief (FAR) a humanitarian group from Canada that has worked in Sudan for many years. They agreed to partner with us on future projects as funding permits. They will also help us with travel logistics such as securing longer term visas and accessing UN flights. Our TSC rainwater harvesting roofs are of great interest to them. They see them not only as a solution for permanent housing for refugees but as a means of economic development and even peace building. Permanent homes mean a sense of place for a family, a return of dignity often lost by people displaced by war, prosperity from job creation and an opportunity to spend time and energy earning a living by applying a useful trade rather than from armed conflict. It seems a lot to expect from a little concrete roof, but everywhere we go in Sudan, that is what the people who have worked here for years tell us. These TSC rainwater harvesting roofs have the potential to improve life here in so many ways not the least of which is providing another source of clean water. We all owe George Nez, the inventor and promoter of TSC roofs, a huge debt of gratitude for his relentless promotion of this technology.

Don't forget the Walk for Sudan on October 18th! We need your support more than ever as we continue to gain momentum for our work here in Sudan. Doors are opening like never before and there is a sense that, even if our travel papers have not, for Nuba's work here, tomorrow has finally arrived!

Steve and Sherilee

The Water Drum

2009-08-27T02:50:00.003-07:00

This is all about water and life. The water drum in our compound is the center of life, not just for our compound, but for our neighbors around us as well. Let me explain.

You know what an oil drum looks like. Well, our water drum looks just like that. When it is full, it holds 12 jerricans of water. Each jerrican is equal to 20 liters. If my math is correct, that is 240 liters of water, or "mah" in Arabic, "moya" in the local dialect. From sunrise until late night, this water drum is the focus of life in the compound.

The water is transported from the Nile River in water tank trucks, clearly labeled as such. There is no city water supply in Juba or in most communities in Southern Sudan. I'm guessing that some folks in Juba have an ongoing delivery schedule, just like our offices and homes in the US have with a local bottled water provider. But in most of Juba town, the water tank trucks can be seen driving through the neighborhoods, stopping at their regular customer's homes to see if water is needed. In our compound, we may run out to the unpaved road and try to flag down a truck passing by, or we might ask one of the young men in the compound to search for a water truck. Our 240 liters of water is then pumped into our drum. We pay 5 Sudanese pounds for our "fill up," about $2 in US money.

A newly refilled drum is a call to action. Dishes are washed outside near the drum, laundry is soaped and rinsed in plastic tubs, pitchers for hand-washing are filled, or a bucket is loaded with water for someone who has been hoping for a shower. Jerricans for washing vegetables or for cooking needs are also refilled and returned to the kitchen area, to be poured into the teakettle when someone wishes to "take tea." Neighbors whose water supply is low, and who may not have the 5 SP, come to fill a bucket or a pitcher or a wash basin. It is a comment on the Sudanese culture and the goodness of Adam and his friends that no one says, "Wait, that's our water. We paid for it."

A drum nearly empty seems to encourage the compound to conserve. Water is used, but in smaller quantities, and the mentality is "I can wait until there is more water. Someone else may need it now."

A heavy rain, such as we have experienced twice while in Juba, refills the drum, because Adam has a gutter placed directly above the drum to harvest the rainwater. The other buildings and tents in the compound or in the neighborhood do not. Imagine what it could mean, then, were there more harvesting of rainwater.

The roofs which are taking shape on the compound will do just that. They will also provide relief from the intense sunlight here near the equator, and with walls, they will allow someone the privacy of a home or temporary shelter. Our crew has brushed on the first two layers of concrete mixture: the first a mix of Portland and acrylic paint for bonding, the second a mix of Portland, acrylic paint, and minimal sand. The quilted pattern of the wire sewn to the muslin is still visible beneath the two layers. Several more layers of concrete will be applied, and we will have a finished section of our first roof. The builders will then be experienced enough to complete this structure and the next.

Steve and I will fly to Khartoum on Friday, August 28th, where we plan to meet with other NGO representatives. We had hoped to attend a Rotary meeting in Khartoum, but have learned that the club does not meet during Ramadan due to fasting. So, we have scheduled a meeting with the club president to share our grant proposal. Depending on the speed of acquiring a travel permit, we will bus to Kadugli for meetings with the Water Ministry there and to deliver supplies and laptop computers for their staff.

We have extended our trip somewhat. I will be leaving Sudan on September 5th, and Steve will continue to supervise the roof construction until it is complete.

Think about our water drum when you turn on the tap next time. Thanks for reading our blog.

Salaam,

Sherilee and Steve

Fish, Feet and Fabric

2009-08-24T10:44:00.000-07:00

Sherilee and I encountered a fish walking across the front yard yesterday morning! The mud fish must be a distant link in the evolutionary chain as it has the ability to live out of water and "walk" on its fins from mud hole to mud hole. Amazing, but not amazing enough for it to escape the broiler. Two of our laborers live next door in a moldy old army tent and had the little guy for breakfast.

You guessed it, for us to have a fish in the yard, it must have rained again! Five hours of rain to be exact. We had an even bigger pond and a creek in the compound Sunday morning than we had after the last week's rain. Walking to the latrine that morning was an acquatic adventure. Ankle-deep running water, skipping from shallow spot to shallow spot accompanied by croaking frogs and roosters cock-a-doodle-dooing.

The rain creates a huge mess all around us. The lot next door is a pond, no kidding, a real pond. The roads are generally passable but the pot holes are full of water at least axle deep. Our drivers are amazing as they navigate these roads! For fear of our taxi driver getting stuck in our "drive way", I asked him to let us out on the corner about 100 meters from our compound. Big mistake. We did not have flashlights so we wandered into mud ankle deep, Sherilee lost her flip flop in the mud and had to walk home with bare feet. My bad! Next time, curb service is mandatory. I am very proud of Sherilee. She has encountered everything from muddy roads to frogs and rats in her room with nothing but a smile and a few choice words.

Today (Monday) we made big progress on the TSC roofs. We finished framing and bandaged the joints to provide a solid structural unit. Our little team of workers is really coming together as a team. There is some banter in Swahili (all are from Uganda), smiles, and everyone is pulling their weight. We found a tailor at the local business center who made a beautiful muslin cloth surface for our first panel. Everyone was ecstatic when they saw the hypar shape formed as we stapled the fabric to the roof frame. Even our crew seemed thrilled with the beauty of the shape, knowing better what an amazing creation this roof can be. Tomorrow we plan to apply the poultry wire to panel #1 then the first layer of cement. We want to be absolutely sure the materials we are using work before proceeding with the other roof panels.

Sherilee and I are concerned that we are overstaying our welcome at Adam's pad. We checked into lodging near his compound and confirmed that the prices we had heard quoted in the USA were accurate. $165 USD per night with 3 meals or $100 per night with no amenities. Yikes! Juba is incredibly expensive because of the number of NGOs operating from here. Car rentals are $100 USD per day so we beg and borrow rides everywhere we can. I have taken several rides to town on 125 cc motorcycles that swarm everywhere looking for fares. For only 5 Sudanese Pounds you can get anywhere in town. Air travel is relatively inexpensive but there is only one provider, UNHAS, the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service which is affiliated with the World Food Program. For $200 USD per leg, you can fly to most UN bases in the country including the airstrips in Kauda and Kadugli in the Nuba Mountains. We are looking into setting up an account at some time in the future. The $5,000 USD deposit they require is beyond Nuba's means at this point. So our plan is to fly a commercial airline to Khartoum then take a bus from there to Kadugli - a minimum of 14 hours on the road. We are trying to time the trip to Khartoum so we can attend the Khartoum Rotary Club meeting on Saturday. As many of you know, the Rotary Club of Denver (Club 31) is providing grant funding for part of our Bilo project so we want to pay a courtesy call on the club that may be partnering with us on the Bilo water wells.

We will post some other photos on the Nuba website. Go to the Gallery section at www.nubawaterproject.org.

Cheers from Juba!

Steve and Sherilee

Raising the Roof

2009-08-22T04:07:00.000-07:00

Our compound has been a busy place these last few days. We are building not one "Thin Shell Concrete" (TSC) hypar roof, but two. Since we last wrote to you, Steve and his crew have completed the wooden frame that supports one of them. Today they are framing the second. No one has any tools here, even the carpenters we hired can't muster more than a rusty saw and old hammer. So, we have made some trips to the local hardware store to buy the few simple tools it requires to build a TSC roof - saw, hammer, chisel, tape measure, carpenter square and level. When our neighbors from within and outside the compound enter now, they are drawn to inspect the roof structure. I think we are all catching the vision of what these shelters will offer. I know that my imagination has been generating ideas as I watch the roof take shape.

Yesterday Steve and I met with some folks from PACT Sudan, which is a peace-building NGO with headquarters here in Juba. Their work takes place in portions of the Nuba Mountains, as well as in other areas in Southern Sudan. They often collaborate with and fund projects initiated by other NGO's, as long as there is a peace dividend for the project. Steve and I enjoyed talking with Mengistu, Muzamil, and Dennis, as they grasped the sustainable and aesthetic qualities of the TSC roof concept. Their engineering experience also helped them to appreciate the unique technology as well. We brainstormed about existing and potential structures that could benefit from the hypar roof while promoting peace and human dignity. We shared with them "our story" of the Nuba Water Project, which Steve does so eloquently. Our plan is to continue in dialogue with PACT Sudan. Mengistu, who is a senior manager in the Juba office, visited the job site today with his camera. He is quite thrilled with the potential for using TSC to address the pressing need for returnee housing as well as commercial construction such as schools and market centers.

Later that evening, our friend Ali introduced us to two of his co-workers from Safer World, an NGO from the UK. Again, we had the opportunity to communicate our mission to another organization that is dedicated to peace-building and to imagine how we might resource water within that focus.

Fortunately, the rainy season here has not been a problem for our construction. We have had very little rain since the storm of a week ago. Work has continued through 100 degree temperatures and high humidity. Our crew has labored through those conditions and appears to be learning the hypar roof process. We will post photos of the roof framing construction later today so that you can see what I have been writing about.

We know that you are cheering for us at home. You have many partners in your support here in Juba as well. Adam, Ali, and Peter, Dan, Hafis, our friends at PACT Sudan, our work crew--all are monitoring our progress. They energize us with their excitement about, and anticipation of the finished TSC roofs. They have become our advocates here in Juba for Nuba Water Project and our vision.

Salaam,

Sherilee and Steve

FYI, you can click on the photos in our blog for a larger view.

BIRAHA, BIRAHA

2009-08-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

"Biraha, biraha" has quickly become our theme, or mantra, for this August 2009 Sudan trip. More than once we have been reminded to "go slowly" by our new friends/hosts Adam, Ali, and Peter. We now are able to remind ourselves to be patient as we continue to do the real work of Nuba Water Project, bringing clean water to the people of Sudan and especially the Nuba Mountains.

Juba has been our home for the past week now. During this week, we finalized our registration as a non-profit corporation with the Ministry of Legal Affairs for Southern Sudan and received our certificate to conduct business here. We acquired our NGO license as a humanitarian agency from the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission. With those two certifications we were then able to open a Nuba Water Project bank account with the Juba branch of a Kenyan bank. This will allow us to wire money to Sudan in order to fund the hypar roof projects and other water resourcing projects that we want to complete now and in upcoming trips.

Later this week we will visit the local UN World Food Program (WFP) office to see about arranging a travel account. This will enable us to travel throughout Sudan on WFP flights. Since there is no commercial aviation in Sudan, except for flights to Khartoum and Juba, NGO's like ours normally travel "stand by" on WFP flights to access most regions of the country - including the Nuba Mountains.

We came to Juba with the intention of building a hypar/thin shell concrete (TSC) roof here. Not only has this city been a humanitarian aid headquarters since the CPA was signed in 2005, but Juba is also the center for the Government of Southern Sudan. Our roof will draw the attention of the many officials who travel to and from Juba because of its sustainability quality and its value to the many NGO's for shelter and housing. Of course, the rainwater harvesting potential and the sheer beauty and grace of the roof shape will be of benefit as well.

So today we began construction on our first TSC roof in Juba. We have chosen to build in the compound where we are staying. Adam has approved our project at his location, which lies on the road to the Juba airport, a highly visible spot. Steve has drawn the plan and hired a contractor. The area for our build within the compound had been a water-prone area. Our first step was to fill in the space with "mahrram," a rock/dirt mix. Two truckloads, 32 cu.meters, were delivered today, and the space has been transformed. Adam and Ali were photographing the progress as the mahrram was evened out on the ground. They have become as excited as we are that a TSC roof will be completed in 6 or 7 days.

We will keep you informed as the work continues, through photos and text.
Our agenda also includes travel to the Nuba Mountains, Kadugli, and to Khartoum, where we will meet with Steve's Sudanese friends. We also want to travel to the village of Kaya to build another TSC roof if time permits.

We welcome your comments as you read our posts. Don't forget to visit the Nuba Water Project website for more photos. Just click on the "Gallery" tab at the top of the home page for the latest from Sudan.

Thank you for your support and good wishes.

Sherilee and Steve

Sights and Sounds From Juba, Sudan

2009-08-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan, is almost impossible to describe. Like most cities in Sudan, it is a crazy mix of new and shabby, ancient and modern, cutting edge and archaic, western hip and extreme poverty, crumbling infrastructure with glimpses of what could be if peace holds and money is spent wisely- smooth roads, clean water, sanitation systems and electric power all exist in patches here and there in Juba town.

We are spending the weekend visiting with our new friends at Adam Abdel Raziq’s compound and puttering with a design for a hypar roof. We will likely build one or two roofs at the compound which will give Adam the opportunity to rent guest house units while providing Nuba Water Project another demonstration site. Juba is a natural location for a hypar roof model with its easy access to NGO’s and Government of Sudan Ministries struggling with housing and clean water. We know that Thin Shell Concrete (TSC) roofs can go a long way to solving both needs.

Last night we had a torrential rainstorm that flooded most of the compound. The only dry spot seems to be the house where Sherilee and I are staying. Adam has been incredibly gracious in letting us take over his two tiny rooms while he sleeps in a shack in back of the main house. The rain on the metal roof woke me up at 2 AM last night. The sound was like a train passing by in the darkness. This morning we have little flies everywhere and a few mosquitoes to boot. The locals claim the malaria here is a special strain that makes you extremely sick. We are relying on the anti-malarial drugs, mosquito repellent and mosquito nets to keep us out of trouble.

Enjoy these photos and others found on the Nuba Water Project website, www.nubawaterproject.org. Click the “Gallery” button at the top of the page. Please consider stopping by the “Donation” page too. We are reminded every moment we are here that the need is great for every conceivable kind of aid and development.

Don’t forget the Walk for Sudan. You can register at www.walkforsudan.org if you are an individual participant. If you are part of a team, see you captain to pay your registration fee.

Best regards from Juba, Sudan!

Steve and Sherilee
P.S. The photo below is not our residence floating down the river. It is a bombed out barge from the battle for Juba during the last civil war that ended in 2005. It sits, midstream in the Nile, as a grim reminder of the war years. Yet the derelict barge is only a few hundred yards downriver from our lunch spot - the bustling Mango Restaurant - proof that peace can bring economic development and a brighter future.

Juba: the excellent experience

2009-08-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Sudan......Juba to be specific!

Here in Juba, Steve and I have been graciously hosted by Adam and his friends Peter and Ali. Adam has ferried us about Juba town, aided by his friends with 4-wheel drive. Whatever we have needed--mosquito nets, coca cola light, the Sudanese pound for our US$'s, water for a shower, internet access--he has found for us. Peter has prepared delicious meals, demonstrating how to properly chop vegetables, and served us a healthy Sudanese salad. Ali's smile, comedic talent, and beautiful photographs have kept us entertained. These men have made our transition to Sudan a seamless experience. We both feel very humble and grateful for their generosity.

Our greatest accomplishment would have been impossible without the presence and expertise of Adam. The first morning in Juba, on Thursday, August 13, we met with a legal assistant to Lawrence Korbandy of the Southern Sudan Associated Advocates. We were informed of the paperwork necessary to legally register as a corporation in Sudan. Steve was well prepared, as is typical for him, and after a quick trip to the internet center, we had copied all forms. Within the next hour, we delivered the application, along with the fee, to the attorney's office.
Only bills printed in 2006 or later were acceptable, so we spent some time examining printing dates to meet the expectation. We were "flying high" when we left the office, having completed a registration that has been in the works for three years now.

This morning, August 14, we signed four copies that will be taken to court here in Juba. We should have our certificate of incorporation for Nuba Water Project, authorized to operate in Sudan, by 5:00 pm today. We will proudly post photos of that certificate as soon as we can do so. In what was a serendipitous harbinger of good luck, Adam, Steve, and I all wore white shirts for our signing, white being a symbol of peace. We were reminded of that significance by our "angel of mercy," Adam.

I know that for Steve, this is a monumental step and a fulfillment of a dream, because it means that Nuba Water Project will continue in Sudan. I am honored to be a part of this process that further lends credibility to the organization and to have this opportunity to represent NWP in Sudan.

Traffic is bustling in Juba, but more so this morning. The President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kir, flew in from Blue Nile State today from a visit there. We were careful to stay out of the traffic as the armed vehicles and official limos or 4-wheelers came racing past us.

Our next goal is to acquire the NGO license, which will take another day at the most. We have learned from the legal counsel here that the Sudanese registration is the required certification for operating legally in Southern Sudan and the three areas of Abyei, Blue Nile, and Southern Kordofan. The NGO license will offer us additional credibility with the United Nations.

Our itinerary is flexible. We may stay in Juba for another two or three days and then move on to Kaya, for which we have been given grant money to build a hypar roof structure. Kaia lies about five hours west of Juba. We have little concern about our next location, as we trust Adam to connect us with his network of people. As he has said to us, "I am here for you as long as you are here."

When a Toilet Is Not Just a Loo

2009-08-11T10:25:00.000-07:00

Now that our senses and minds have caught up to the East African time zone, we are ready to depart for Juba, Sudan. Our time in Nairobi has been both a chance to get over a bit of jet lag and an opportunity to learn more about a phenomenal sanitation initiative called Ecotact. David Kuria is the CEO of a two year old non-profit already making news around the world with its unique social enterprise combining clean toilet facilities, clean water, showers and sale of consumer goods like soft drinks, candy, and phone cards. David was recently honored at the World Economic Forum in South Africa as the Social Entrepreneur of the Year for the continent. Why? Because of his creative work bringing clean water and sanitation to urban and rural Kenya.

As these photos attest, Ecotact toilets are not your run-of-the-mill urban pit stops. Rather than running in and out of a bathroom that looks and smells like an abandoned pit latrine, Ecotact toilets are actually clean and odor free facilities. Having used both Ecotact toilets and the standard public latrine here in Nairobi, I can attest to the distinct difference in upkeep and aroma. Instead of gagging as I stumbled out of the shoddy public loo, I lingered outside the Ecotact kiosk, chatting with David and Sherilee, sipping a cold Coke then ducking around back for a shoeshine. What a concept - combining cleanliness, improved health, profit and economic development! Each Eco Toilet facility employees dozens of men and women providing a much needed economic boost to a country with double digit unemployment. Ecotact is a model of sustainable social enterprise.

When we return to Nairobi at the end of the month, we will meet again with David and the Chairman of Ecotact, Kamithi Ng’ang’a, to discuss how our Thin Shell Concrete (TSC) rainwater harvesting roofs can help the country address another pervasive problem – housing for the poor and displaced. Both David and Ng’ang’a immediately saw the potential of TSC roofs to bring shelter and another source of clean water to rural communities and camps for people displaced by recent political violence in Kenya.

Transiting Through London

2009-08-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

We are waiting for the next flight in a restaurant at Heathrow airport in London. The vibe here is world-jazz Elephant Bar but the token is giraffe not elephant. Their slogan is cool-we certainly will have a fresh view of he world in the coming days.

We had a good flight - British Airways is definitely a cut above the norm for international travel. We even slept a little on the way from Denver.

Onward to Nairobi in a few hours! We have several connections to make there before leaving for Juba, Sudan. Our rainwater harvesting roofs have generated quite a bit of interest from NGO's working in east Africa so we are following up on contacts in Nairobi. The roof photos in this post are from our recent TSC (thin shell concrete) roof build at St. Luke's church in Highlands Ranch, CO. These shade structures are similar to what we will build in Sudan for homes and commercial buildings such as medical clinics and schools.

New Blog for Nuba Water Project

2009-07-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Board Member Sherilee Selby and Executive Director Steve Riley are on their way to Sudan on August 8, 2009! They will be in Sudan for about three weeks with visits to Juba, Kadugli (in the Nuba Mountains) and Khartoum.

We will post to this blog during the trip and include photos and video whenever possible.

You are encouraged to subscribe to our blog and create your own posts! We'd love to hear from you during our stay in Sudan.

Steve Riley & Sherilee Selby