Update on the MoM Garden

The last update on the MoM garden saw our mud hut going up and our wind turbine coming down. However, since then, we’ve experienced again the adventures of living in a rural area while watching the mud hut coming down and the wind turbine going up! It’s true that in Africa, if it’s not one adventure, it’s another!

This year, we planted a variety of items in the garden, including maize, several vegetables and a few herbs. Success has been seen at differing extents: some have done exceedingly well, while others have been more of a learning exercise.
The area we ploughed for the maize field was formerly a corral for cattle, thus it was well fertilized and as a result, the maize was some of the best I have seen! Our maize crop grew fantastically and we were quite excited for our recent harvest which utilized a new machine I had bought in rural France. This machine is designed to remove the seeds, a method quite different from the local labor-intensive technique which requires harvesters to put the cobs in a bag, thresh it with a stick to separate the corn from the husk, and finally physically separate the corn from the chaff and husks that remain. Despite the perks of the new machine, the verdict is still out regarding which is quicker! In addition to being a bit tricky to use, it only threshes one cob at a time. I remain optimistic though that additional experience will prove this to be a valuable asset as the cobs remain whole after harvesting, providing alternate uses such as fuel and (scratchy) toilet paper. The harvest resulted in a complete yield of roughly one 60kg bag of maize, which is encouraging to see from such a small plot!

Not all the vegetables in the garden had such bounteous harvests as the maize, but we learned a great deal from the experience and anticipate a better result next planting season! Although the cucumbers and peppers grew well as expected, the squash and tomatoes had some trouble with bugs due to a lack of pesticides available. There is a very effective local pesticide I tend to prefer which is made from the oil of the Neem tree. The trees are readily available, but after approaching some of the Fulani women about making some of the Neem oil, I learned that it can be a tedious process and is much easier to make if a machine is present.

Our herb garden is still a work in process and we were able to grow some anti-malarial herbs such as Artemisia and lemongrass. Artemisia is often used to treat malaria and is actually the base for many modern anti-malarial drugs. Lemongrass, often made into a tea, is an excellent fever reducer! We will need to find a better growing environment for the basil, rosemary and mint before we will see a usable harvest from these herbs. During rainy season, we are especially busy as the grass grows so fast we have to cut it once a week on the aircraft maneuvering areas, so it is easy for these small herbs to overgrow when they are young, thus risking their demise.

Our adventure building the mud hut has taught us several valuable lessons regarding local resources and sustainability of materials! A lack of funds left us unable to roof and plaster the building once we had put up the walls. Thus exposed to the elements with no protection, the mud walls literally melted away within a few weeks. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise however, as we realized during the building process that there were some design flaws. The local men contracted to build the mud hut did so the traditional way, while in the process failing to utilize levels, lines or measurement which resulted in an unstable structure. While MoM does encourage communities to construct sustainable buildings in the ways they know best, we want to promote mutual learning. This was an excellent learning experience which provided us insight into the local resources and methods for building structures, which then enables us to analyze the process and attempt to develop sustainable innovations to improve structural integrity without compromising the local “flavour”. However, I think I have discovered now why mud huts are typically built in the dry season!

Our most recent volunteer (Fred) was invaluable to getting the wind turbine back up! We had hoped to see two things accomplished during his stay: the wind turbine and the welding of a trailer. Although the turbine turned out to be a much more complex and time-consuming task than originally anticipated, it was a top priority as it had been down for some time. Thanks to Fred’s hard work, the turbine is up and running again and several main parts welded on the trailer!

Getting the wind turbine up and running has been a challenge recently, so we have been doing some critical thinking to determine how to best move forward. It has faced structural challenges as well as environmental ones, both of which require adaptation to overcome. Recently, the turbine had blown down during strong winds of up to 90kts. However, prior to its fall, the turbine had not been turning very well with what wind it was getting. Our intended solution was to build it slightly higher and tie guy lines to it in order to increase wind-flow and stability, but unfortunately, there were some concerns with the manner in which the galvanised water pipes fit together after. As a result, we stayed with our original design which uses one 6-meter water pipe. Although galvanised water pipes may not sound particularly strong, our research indicated that it is commonly used within this context. Once we were able to connect the battery, a new challenge presented itself in the inability of the turbine to capture enough wind to facilitate charging the battery as it was intended. To address this issue, we may attempt to trim additional trees around in order to provide more wind. We are also considering the materials used so far and assessing whether plastic blades from the water drums might be as efficient as the aluminium ones on the original turbine. The turbine is 250W and will be able to charge one 20AmH battery that one would then run off. The amount of wind we get here on the airfield is quite reliable and we look forward to harnessing it in order to do something productive!

In the coming weeks, we look forward to planting again in the MoM garden as we have already ploughed the area in preparation. It is always busy here at the airfield, but we hope to get some new seeds in the soil before the dry season arrives. Any volunteers who would like to help us in the garden would be more than welcome! Our goal in the MoM garden is to focus on growing plants that are useful, particularly medicinal plants. In addition, we would like to develop a technique for drying products using a solar dryer in order to preserve them.

First on the Continent

Recieved Oct 4th, 2011 from the 99's

On behalf of the International Board of Directors and all Ninety-Nines, we extend our warmest welcome to the newest Section, Ghanaian, approved by the International Board of Directors this day, October 4, 2011.

The Ghanaian Section is currently the only Section on the African continent and your success is of great importance to those of us who live elsewhere in the world. We would be greatly heartened as an organization to see more Sections in Africa as aviation is indeed a great means of communication that benefits all and Africa is a huge continent that is best bound together through aviation.

Saturday 9-24-2011

A quiet day at the airfield, but we did get to fly out to check on the progress at Battorkope ready for a landing.... it was a shock - the water level is rising fast and unless they hurry up there will not be enough land left to land on this side of the new year. The water is considerably higher than this time last year and despite our warnings the folks there simply do not believe that the levels will be allowed to do the same as last year....

Back at the airfield, work progresses in the workshop as we undertake essential maintenance.... with some hornet stings to boot!

We hope to be able to land this week at Battorkope... but it is looking not promising.... Approvals for Kete Krachi are needed before we can land there again, and they are still not forthcoming...

Pilot swimming lessons

Since the AvTech Academy had not officially started, I took the girls swimming at a public pool in a nearby town this week. Now, what sounds like a fun holiday activity – and a cool refreshment from the heat – was actually driven by more serious means: "Learning to swim is good for some of the things we do," says Emmanuella, "like Search And Rescue and flying of the float plane". "And in case of an emergency on water, I can safe my life and that of others” adds Juliet. Hence, It is a strong and inevitable necessity to teach our young future Ghanaian pilots to survive and swim.

Now, while most of us had to be able to prove our swimming skills in Junior High at the latest, swimming is not part of the Ghanaian school curriculum at any stage. Having a large population living around the Volta lake, not to mention those making their daily income on the lake – this bears a high risk of preventable casualties – if only they could swim. In fact, many fishermen cannot swim. Some might have an idea on how to keep their head above the water surface, with techniques that do not necessarily fall under typical, non-exhausting, “swimming”.

Just last week, a heavily overloaded boat sunk not far from Kete Krachi. After hitting a tree stump in the Lake, leading to the capsizing of the boat, and a death toll of around 25, with one person still missing. This unfortunately proves, how a few lessons of the right swimming techniques and improvements of skills (and the adherence to safety on and around water, including the use of life vests), can save lives.

Before starting to work on the girls’ techniques, I asked the girls what they had been shown, seen or tried before regarding swimming. I don’t think “doggy paddle” has made it yet to become a category for the Olympics, has it? We started with the basics of breast stroke: I did some “dry” illustrations, laying on the pool’s edge, to show the movements of legs and arms.

Because of her arm, Lydia could not participate in these lessons – yet. She said "I am a little bit jealous to see what Juliet and Emmanuella are learning, and I cannot practice with them". But she enjoyed watching the girls struggle with their coordination and kept herself busy with splashing water at us, while knowing we couldn’t do the same to her.

Since we were in the shallow pool of standing depth, none of the girls were at risk of drowning and we did some separate practices on arm movements while sitting in the water as well as separate leg movements whilst holding on to the edge. Bringing those movements together was the tricky part.

I took each of the girls on rounds and laps, up and down the pool, holding my supporting hand just beneath their belly to keep them evenly leveled below the water surface. Without the right body tension, there was significant drag under the water; without coordinated movement of legs and arms, their bodies moved unevenly up and down like a boat in a storm, splashing water into their faces and causing abrupt cessation of forward movements. But after a while, both Juliet and Emmanuella, had their “ahhaaa” effect: Keeping your fingers closed gives much more surface to push the water away and move forward; pushing water not only sideward but downwards gives extra lift to keep the head over water; keeping legs and feet under water (or trying to do so), causes less disturbing waves and water splashes – and if all movements are aligned, it is pretty easy to move forward without swallowing water.

However, the ‘coordination and alignment’ is where we will have to pick up our next lesson. While guiding the girls through the pool, I gave them tips here and there. Whenever it was related to the arms or hands, all leg movements stopped. Same when I was guiding their legs, the arms went to almost standstill.

I hope during the next lesson, the girls will gain the confidence and techniques to be able to swim around the pool without a safety hand. And I hope that we can start with crawl strokes – this will be an interesting challenge, since the girls will have to deliberately put their faces into the water…


Submitted by: Jennifer Joksch

Fulani report September 12, 2011.

Submitted by Cindy Gracelyn Yeboah

With a new week came another wonderful class with the students at the Fulani camp! Despite the fact that the adults were unable to attend this week, I was encouraged to have the children to teach at the center. We are so thankful to have the opportunity to work with this community to take charge of their own health and even though we recognize that sustainable change is a gradual process, we are optimistic when looking at how far we have come and the lives impacted already.

As the focus this week was infection control, I introduced the children to small behavior changes in their daily routines to help them avoid potential infections. Many of the behavior changes discussed only require minimal effort and thus encourage sustainability. In this type of environment, small changes have the potential to be a catalyst and affect a much larger picture. Some of the topics we addressed are included below:

· Dental Hygiene: I encouraged the children to make an effort to clean their teeth at least twice a day in order to promote oral health. Children here in Ghana often struggle in the absence of regular visits to the dentist and these small efforts help prevent loss of teeth as a result of tooth decay and other dental disorders.

· Maintenance of their fingernails: The children in the Fulani camp, like many normal children, engage in activities such as climbing trees, playing in the sand, and chasing each other. They are also exposed to environmental factors like cow dung in their living areas due to the camp nature of their community. In order to minimize the effect of germs collecting beneath their nails, I expressed to the children in particular to keep their fingernails cut short. In addition to the germs beneath their nails, longer nails also have the potential to create scratches which can lead to infection.

· Proper Hand-Washing: I explained to the children the need to wash their hands with soap and clean water as often as possible in a day. Hand-washing should be thorough and done long enough to get rid of the germs between the fingers and underneath the fingernails.

· Environmental Maintenance: I discussed with the children about keeping their environment as clean as possible and, in particular, avoiding the rampant cow dung (which they see as harmless). Ideally, their compounds should be swept and kept clean of debris, thus limiting exposure to germs or potential injuries from the debris and cow dung. Due to specific local beliefs regarding the use of cow dung, I felt it necessary to emphasize that cow dung should not be used for the treatment of any insect bites or wounds.

· Appropriate Footwear: Our last topic focused on the need for the children to wear appropriate footwear at all times, but this is somewhat of a difficult topic. Most of the children walk through the bush in order to reach the center, but without any footwear to protect their feet. Wearing closed shoes can protect the children from being stung by poisonous insects or from being pricked by rusted metal pieces, tree branches, and other things laying about the environment that could easily cause wounds and infections.

Next week, we will continue to discuss good health practices with the students and I hope to see more of the adults and older students back to class.

Sene river incident

On Tuesday 6th September 2011, during the night, a canoe sank along the River Sene, one of the tributaries to Lake Volta, within the 'Lake Dwellers' zone we are keen to support.

The site of the accident turned out to be just 25km from Kete Krachi airstrip, the site we have been pushing to open for a long time (nearly 3 years). The Krachi Strip is quite usable, but is not yet authorised for service, due to delays in the inspection of the facility, since it is not easy to access.

When we heard the news of this terrible accident (at the time they estimated 35 - 50 dead), it was already nearly 20 hours after the incident, and night had fallen on Wednesday evening. THursday at first light we called NADMO (National Disaster Management Organisation) who oversee these things. We offered to fly a Search and Rescue Mission and to carry two of their people to the Kete Krachi strip, if permission to use it could be secured.

The NADMO team finally arrived at around 4pm on Thursday afternoon, too late to make the flights before sunset. It was decided that they would return the next morning at 06:00.

Two WAASPS/MoM aircraft, 9G ZKT flown by Patricia Mawuli Nyekodzi and 9G ZAF flown by Jonathan Porter, each accompanied by representatives from NADMO, left Kpong Airfield on Friday 9th September 2011, routing to Kete Krachi . The girls from Kete Krachi who had already received training on airfield operations and FOD walks were asked to prepare the site for our arrival - demonstrating the key importance of training people from within the communities in case of events that require us to arrive at short notice.

Flight departure was delayed by inclement weather, finally leaving around 08:30 and dodging storms and showers to get to the site. By 10:30 we were safely on the ground at Kete Krachi. The 200km trip by air taking a little over 1hr and 30 minutes - compared to the 12+ hours by road. Reception by the youngsters who had been trained was excellent and they also provided aircraft pushing and crowd control to the highest standards.

Officials at the site arrived and gave us an indication that the accident site was ‘far’ between 50 and 100km away… we were also informed that the boat has sunk close to the shore – a matter of meters.

Based on the currents and other information, it was decided to fly the south banks of the Sene, from the headland that separates it from the Volta. Sadly little accurate information regarding sites of other body discoveries was available.

CH701 9G ZAF was used as the spotting aircraft, flown at this time by Patricia Mawuli Nyekodzi with Jonathan Porter as a spotter/photographer. Sadly, we were fuel limited since there is NO suitable fuel at Krachi and our planned fuel dump there cannot be established before the approval for the site is in place. Had we had a fuel dump in place - or suitable fuel available, both aircraft could have flown the mission. Fortunately, the 701 has a 10 hour operational range on eco-cruise, making it able to operate with its own reserves.

Setting off it was quickly evident that the banks of the Sene are remarkably a) convoluted, b) debris strewn and c) hazardous in many places due to trees and stumps underwater – much of this may attributable to the recent higher than usual water levels.

After passing the 60km from Krachi point on the southern bank, the team crossed to the northern bank and headed back downstream, and finally found the accident site, 25km from Krachi on the Northern banks of the River Sene at N7 41.049 W0 15.363.

The stricken vessel was laying on a mud bank, clearly partially above the water line on its muddy standing approximately 800m from the shore, looking at the wreck we assume that it hit a stump.

No survivors nor evidence of victims was found, which was later corroborated as the unaccounted for dropped to one. (no manifests exists for these operations, and it is all based on 'casual reporting') Had we been able to get airborne and use Kete Krachi at dawn after the incident, and had we been informed, it is certain we could have done more....but the challenges in an SAR here are great....

We require more accurate information to be more productive, efficient and effective.

Location: the name of a town that is not on a map and without knowledge of the distance nor shore of the river is of little use and results in extra resources being wasted in clarifying what should be readily available.

Search and Rescue has two components – Search and, amazingly, Rescue. Aircraft are good at searching and clearing areas or spotting those in need of assistance. However, the standard method of reporting a position is by WGS84 Lat/Lon positions. Where the ground teams are not equipped with even BASIC GPS equipment or an understanding of headings and distances it becomes very difficult to share information between the search team and the rescue team; add to that the lack of 2 way radio or even reliable telephone coverage and the chances of survival, even for a spotted, injured person are very slim. We have offered to assist with GPS training and simulation exercises to NADMO.

This is a clear case where an amphibian aircraft with range would have been an asset.... but we cannot operate the fibreglass floats in that zone, it requires aluminium units with large wheels - such as the Zenair floats (which we so dearly wish to acquire - even if only on a 701 at this stage... the 801 would allow us to pick up a victim from in the water, but the cost of acquisition, transport and entry to service is considerably more.

During the SAR component of the mission , a linear track of 260km from Krachi-to-Krachi was covered. Most of the distance accounted for is due to following the convoluted coastline of the River Sene, especially over the marshy and tree-inaccessible areas. The total area covered by the flight was 316Km2 … although considerably more was observed than the encapsulated track represents.

[The SAR mission took approximately 2 hours, and the total flight time for the two aircraft for the day was around nine and a half hours, with a total distance flown of over one thousand kilometers.]

No charges were made to the authorities for this service in the interest of the people and their families who are suffering from this incident. Patricia amazed me with her ability to get in first time at the challenging strip and her flying was of the utmost accuracy throughout - MoM and WAASPS have trained a great crew who can perform, given the opportunity.

Kete Krachi Girls Prepare for Re-activation of Rural Airstrip

Ghana has a growing international reputation for its growth in the light aviation sector, including having won several awards and has been the focus of several articles in the international aviation press related to the same. One of the key aspects of Ghana’s developing light aviation sector is that is led and run by principally by young Ghanaian women. Patricia Mawuli Nyekodzi, who built and flew an aircraft around Ghana last year, lead a team of pilots to fly one hundred young people from rural areas in March of this year. Students for that event were hand-picked from Techiman, Kete Krachi and the Manya Krobo district.

With the advent of the re-activation of the Kete Krachi airstrip, and with the possibility of selection for a four year programme that includes learning to fly, build aircraft, computing and robotics, five Kete Krachi SHS students, who participated in the March event, have been undergoing a workshop at Kpong Airfield. Kete Krachi is a community with an aviation history dating back over fifty years. The leaders of Kete Krachi have worked hard in the rehabilitation of the airstrip, assisted by a team from Medicine on the Move and with encouragements from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority. Once the strip is approved for use, it will see regular movements, and as such the young people of the community need to learn how to care for their resources.

The ‘chosen’ girls, Freda Fafali Fiakwesi, Ellen Obimpeh, Cate Brabi, Beatrice Sarfo and Deborah Owusuwa had their transport to the event sponsored by the Volta Lake Transport Company, who clearly understand the importance of an airstrip at the mid-point of the lake. This week, each of the young aspirants has undergone an introductory flight with time on the controls of an aircraft as well as learning how to carry out the very necessary FOD (Foreign Object Debris) walks that must take place prior to air-operations at the strip in Kete Krachi. The week long programme is led by Patricia, assisted by Emmanuella Nyekodzi and Lydia Wetsi from the AvTech Academy.

One of the key aircraft that will operate to Kete Krachi is the CH801 four seat STOL (Short Take Off and Landing) aircraft currently being built in Ghana, and the girls have been involved in the production of parts for the engine cooling system called ‘baffles’. A sheet of 6061 T6 aluminium is marked out with the part outline in developed form (flat) and then carefully drilled, cut and filed to shape in preparation for bending and forming into the finished design ready for installation. According to Patricia ‘these girls are full of life; they are serious and are making excellent efforts...’ She continues ‘…considering this is the first time that they have worked with sheet metal, they are all doing really well – and will soon see the aircraft, that they have helped to manufacture parts for, flying into their community.’

The young ambassadors for the remote town are equally enthralled ‘we are learning so much and want to see our airfield being used every month – if not every week.’ they explained. Already two of the young ladies have expressed their desire to learn piloting skills and another is very interested in becoming an airborne health educator to rural communities.

The DCE for Kete Krachi, Kwame Moses Ponye has been very supportive of the initiative and has already organised community inputs to help ensure the success of their community airfield.

Once Kete Krachi is operational, movements between Kpong Airfield and the Kete Krachi facility should soon become a regular feature, opening up new potential for humanitarian aviation and many other developments.

According to Patricia, Medicine on the Move is already planning increased health education and related support activity along the lake, using land and amphibian aircraft, seeing Kete Krachi as a strategic location for safety and operational purposes. Medicine on the Move aims to help train more Ghanaians to learn to build and fly aircraft, under the regulations as laid down by Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, in conjunction with WAASPS Ltd and the AvTech Academy.