Well Deserved Photo

Fearsome blog followers!!

The completed reservoir!!!!!

In the foreground is the community's beautiful ferrocement reservoir. In the background to the left is the control box where all of the influent and effluent pipes will be connected to the tank.

Thank you everyone who contributed to the success of the project, not just this phase but from the beginning. Also, a special thank you to Caesar Rodney Rotary Club and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources for helping us construct a smaller prototype on campus to ensure the success of our project in Bamendjou. Again, without the great support group that EWB-UD has, none of this would be possible.

We are safely back in the US. The flight arrived at JFK yesterday around 5 pm, and luckily our luggage made it back with us! Here is the translated version of the Water Committee speech...

Bakang
6/23/2010

Committee for the Management of Potable Water of Bakang
tel: 97023526

Mr. Professor, dear brother engineers without borders from the USA, in the name of the committee of the Bakang community, I thank you in advance for all that you have done for us. Our collaboration, our determination and our eagerness to work together, hand in hand, dates back to this time in 2007. The potable water tank, which for us was an unrealistic dream, has become a reality today. Our satisfaction being complete, we say thank you once again and ask you not to abandon us because we have gotten a taste for what you can do, and like the common African proverb says:

"Appetite comes from eating."

Dear brother engineers, with your technical training and advice, your presence will always be indispensable around us. We promise you that we will make good use of the wells and tank that you have installed, and assure you of their proper maintenance.

We wish you a good trip and return to America, and your return here to Bakang is eagerly awaited for the continuation of this precious project.

Mr. Professor, dear brother engineers without borders from the USA, I thank you.

The president of the management of potable water of Bakang.
tel: 95023526



-Chev

On our way home (24 hours late!!)

We left our many friends in Bakang, Balatsit, and Bamendjou today. Taylor is staying until early Monday to wrap up some plumbing details, so there were four UD'ers and Guy in a taxi then an intercity bus, then car, getting to the airport. We also stopped at Mayor Mukam's house in Yaoundé to finish up some logistical details.

The Yaoundé airport isn't usually an ordeal like this, but the scheduled 5 am departure (so start check in at 2 am), then a 3-hour flight delay, meant an all-nighter there. The delay meant we missed our connection to New York, so we are laid over in Casablanca for 24 hours.
Casablanca is basically a big city. They put us in a with good accommodations but there's not much too do but wait. I can't post any pictures for you, our beloved fans, because the camera connection stuff is in my suitcase someplace at the airport. We will get more up soon!

The tank is a real milestone. But I will not write what the Water Committee stated in more moving terms. We'll post their good-bye speech as soon as we get it translated.

Dr. Steve

Just us (without Dan)

Sorry, Dan! Here we are, without you, being very happy after seeing the final stages of tank construction. As Amy & Amy described, there's still more to do. But we are so popular here that there are apparently going to be kids named Amy, Taylor, and Steve in the foreseeable future (Taryn is called Amy, too). Those are not really very French or Cameroonian names and will surely be curiosities caused by an EWB project.

The first layer of mortar is on the roof of the tank! The second layer is going on as we speak. The team is leaving for Yaoundé tomorrow morning after a meeting with the water committees. Still to do, finish the control box, set up the tap stand and smooth out the roof. We have a good team working on it, and we should be done for tomorrow. The weather has been giving us some late starts, but the masons are making up for lost time. We finally found all of the fittings in Bafoussam!!! Heading back now to Bamendjou to help finish up. This will probably be the last post before we get back. See you all in the states!!

Amy and Amy

Even more pix (Dr. Steve)

Below is our 20,000 L tank!! It still needs some more layers of mortar on the inside and outside, then the top (you can see there's still re-bar, wire mesh, and chicken wire up there) - and the exterior piping - but it's been a lot of work to the point and we are all very proud of our accomplishment. Mayor Mukam came up and looked at it and was also very impressed.

Above (sorry, the system here won't let me move pix) is Amy B. showing signs of exhaustion. piling dirt on her pants leg. I should be careful posting embarassing pictures, though: the team has dozens of pictures of their faculty advisor sleeping in various times and locations.

Work goes on!! Stay tuned!

We have made a lot of progresss on the tank since Wednesday. The first coat of mortar is on and most of the piping is installed. We have had great support from community members and the tank is moving along at a good pace. Except for a few fittings we were unable to locate in Bafussam, there have been no major bumps in the road. Time has gone by so fast since we have been here, it is sad that there is only a short time left here. However I now know more than ever that the time and effort that everyone here in Cameroon and back home puts into this project is well worth the rewards. In other news, sadly Cameroon lost it's second match of the world cup to Denmark.

-Taryn