VWOS Orientation - Day 6

30th May

Day 6

Last night when we were trying to fall asleep, the room was quite hot and stuffy.  After a little while a storm rolled in.  At first, this seemed like sweet relief from the heat, until we remembered that the ozone generator had been installed earlier that day and had not been covered from the rain. So, falling asleep to a nice, peaceful thunderstorm turned into Amy, Amanda, and Ariela running outside at 11 pm in the pouring rain and mud trying to cover the ozone generator to keep it dry. From the beginning, we were planning on building a roof over the system to prevent any of it getting wet. However, because of the lack of rain we had let that fall into the back of our minds. Luckily, the generator was in far enough from the edge of the roof, so it was only reached by a few small splashes.  We covered it with plastic bags and Amy's raincoat.  Once we were satisfied that it was protected, we headed back to bed.

This morning was an exciting morning, since we were doing our training session for the employees of the Villa who will be using the system.  We had ten participants in the session.  Amy and Amanda introduced the system, its operation procedures and maintenance activities.  The session went very well.  The participants were attentive and had many good questions for us.

Nathan Ricardo (leftmost) was our translator for the day.

For the second part of the training, we demonstrated the system and gave the participants the opportunity to get some hands on experience with the system. Ray even had a sermon that correlated with how the system worked. The venturi represents the cross and allows the holy spirit (the ozone) to enter our lives, which makes us anew and ready to enter the world (the tank) to spread God's love and change the world. The group really enjoyed this and it even gave a little boost to remember how the system works.

Tonio enthusiastically removed the filter casing as part of the demonstration.

At the end, we all tried the water we had produced.  The Villa employees were very excited to try it out.  It was fulfilling for our team to see how interested they were in our system and how happy they were to try the water. Some of them said it tasted just like the bottled water they buy. After all the hard work and trials the VWOS team has been through during the past few years, it felt like a big accomplishment to finally have it installed and working. And now that Amy and Amanda have graduated, this was the perfect ending for them as they leave the project.

Thrills and Adventures - Day 5

29th May

Day 5

Once again, the sun rose early here in Managua, and so did our team. This morning, however, we did not anticipate a full day of work. The primary objective of the day was to relax and unwind. This did not however, stop us from plugging up a couple of leaks; after all, what could ruin our day more than a leaky VWOS installation?

The leaky connections on the water meter were a major cause of all our woes.

Anyway, we boarded the 15-passenger van and primed ourselves for a day of fun and relaxation. Jeff Thompson (our partner from Forward Edge International) and Nathan Ricardo accompanied us in our big day out. We left the Villa at around nine o'clock, and our first destination was the ancient city of Granada, which was founded in 1524.

After an hour or so, we arrived in the archaic and charming city of Granada. Wrestling through the busy streets gave us plenty of time to savor the architecture and layout of the city. We drove through the city and arrived at a dock, from which we would board a boat to explore Lake Nicaragua.

A view of a volcano from Lake Nicaragua.

Lake Nicaragua was unusually low at this time, due to the absence of the rain. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful freshwater lake with spectacular views. Plus, there were exactly 365 islands contained within the lake. Nathan had stories to tell about nearly every single one of them. One the islands was home to a group of monkeys. 

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A picture of one of the monkeys stalking along the coast.

Amy was a tad apprehensive about having monkeys on board the boat.  Her fears were realized though, as a monkey (affectionately named Lucy by the boatmen) boarded our boat. Lucy proceeded to hug the boatmen, who serve as her caretaker,  before returning to the island.

We returned to the dock shortly after. Our next destination was a place called Masaya. After a lengthy, uphill drive, we arrived at a lookout point in Masaya where we stopped for lunch. Next, we drove to downtown Masaya where we spent an hour shopping in a market square.

 The lookout point overlooking Lake Apollo, where we had our lunch.

Once we were through with shopping, we boarded the van and drove to our next destination: the fearsome Volcan Masaya. Located in a national park, Volcan Masaya is an active volcano that is part of a larger chain of volcanoes that streaks across Nicaragua. We walked up to the edge of the crater and beheld the smoke and strange rock formations. 

A picture of smoke emerging from the crater of Volcan Masaya.

As soon as we got our fill of thrills and adventures (and sulfurous gas), we left the National Park and made our way back to the Villa. We stopped by the Cafecito where we enjoyed a sumptuous dinner and reflected on our day. 

Tomorrow, we will resume our work with the VWOS installation. More specifically, project leaders Amanda Schneider and Amy Heindel will be giving a training session on how to operate the VWOS installation. 

We now leave you with these pictures of buzzards in the sunset, which were taken behind the Cafecito. 

"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." - Psalm 24:1

Finishing Touches - Day 4

28th May

Day 4

Today was the day: we were going to finish the assembly of the purification system. There were two primary tasks at hand: assembling the serpentine loop, and wiring up the system. 

VWOS project leaders, Amanda Schneider and Amy Heindel, along with Dr Thomas Soerens, volunteered to handle the serpentine loop. Their job required them to make accurate pipe cutouts and pipe connections. When considering their design, they ensured that the loop was 30 feet long and was compact enough for practical and aesthetic purposes.

Serpentine loops are tedious to plan and make. Consequently, Amanda, Thomas and Amy were knocked out after the assembly was finished (or maybe it was the fumes from the glue...)

In the meantime, Ray Knepper and Toby Mea proceeded to install the wires and electronics of the VWOS installation. Between the two of them, they have at least 51 years of experience as electricians (more specifically, Ray has 50 plus years while Toby has only a year). Thus, under Ray's direction, the various electronic components (i.e switches, electric meters, the pump and the ozonator) were wired to the power supply here at Villa Esperanza.

Installing the power box, from which all other appliances will get their power. 

Sometime before lunch, the serpentine loop joined the rest of the system and suddenly, we get something that looked similar to the VWOS in the Engineering Laboratory at Messiah College. 

With the installation of the serpentine loop, water being pumped through the system makes contact with the ozone, allowing for water disinfection and oxidation of other chemicals.

In the electric department however, there was a slight setback as some components were still missing. Fortunately, William managed to fetch the necessary components from around Managua. The sun started to beat on us as we scrambled to put the finishing touches to the installation. Ariela even flicked the switches to ensure that our wiring was done properly. In the end, we breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped back to behold all that we have done

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 The VWOS system, installed in Villa Esperanza, Managua, Nicaragua

We are so thankful to have come this far in our journey. We would like to thank everyone for striving together with us in prayer. We will continue to run tests and observations to optimize the system and prepare ourselves to pass this system on to the staff working here in Villa Esperanza.

It's in "the pipeline" - Day 3

27th May

Day 03

We assembled early in the morning as scheduled. After enjoying an enlightening and thought-provoking devotional lead by Pastor Ricardo and Gloria Sequiera, we gathered together by the installation site to create a list of things to buy for our system. 

Once the list was finished, we boarded a 15-passenger van and went to downtown Managua to shop for materials. The drive was rather enjoyable as the daylight exposed all the nuances of urban Nicaragua. William was our driver today, and he masterfully navigated the busy streets and got us to our various destinations, which included a number of hardware stores and Cafecito.

We returned to the Villa at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon and we got started on finishing the installation. The most pressing issue was to install a check-valve; this will keep the tank from draining in the event that the principal water supply loses pressure (which apparently, happens from time to time here in Managua).

Picture which features the spot where we had to dig and install the check valve

Amy very meticulously dug the ground around the pipe and gave us sufficient room to perform the installation of the check-value. Next, we proceeded to continue to install the necessary pipes, connectors and valves. With our trusty measuring tapes, glue, and hack-saw in hand, we worked feverishly and cautiously.

Since the Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) probe should ALWAYS be immersed in water when running, a ball valve was installed to allow water to pool at the area where the ORP probe is located

The filters are all placed and ready to be joined with the Ozonator

The results of our work today speak for themselves. Everything we need to finish the installation has been purchased and is ready for use. By the time we wrapped up our work, all we had left to do is to install the serpentine loop, connect the loop to the tank and wire up the Ozonator. In other words, the system IS coming together and in the pipelines, so to speak.

We would like to thank everyone for their support thus far, and continue to strive with us in prayer as we prepare to finish the installation. Also, we will be training the staff here at Villa Esperanza to operate the system on Friday (Day 6). Hopefully, the system would be running smoothly by then.

El Cafecito

Located not too far from Villa Esperanza is a lovely cafe by the name of Cafecito. While this cafe may look like your typical, modern, trendy venue that you and your friends would go to every other day, Cafecito is actually one of Forward Edge's projects here in Managua, Nicaragua.

From left to right: Ariela, Amy, Amanda, Thomas, Ray and Toby

After a hectic morning of shopping for equipment, our team, accompanied by William, came to the Cafecito to sample their selection of coffee and pastries. We sat out by the porch, which commanded spectacular views of a lagoon and the surrounding mountain range. Equally spectacular was the food we ate, including the Cafecito's rich, delicious and decadent "Chocolate Dream" cake (which was eaten up long before it could be captured on film).

 

  The Lagoon and Mountain Range 

The aim of the Cafecito is to provide job opportunities for locals in the area of food service. The staff here have the opportunity to gain skills in food preparation and other business related skills to empower and help them along their career. On board with Cafecito is a local coffee-pressing business that supplies the Cafecito with a special blend of coffee. All of Cafecito's proceeds go towards sustaining Forward Edge's operations here in Nicaragua, including the Villa.

 

Team Members Ray Knepper and Amanda Schneider standing in front of Cafecito's entrance

As our team left the Cafecito, we gained a better appreciation for the work that our partners at Forward Edge is doing here in Nicaragua. We look forward to what they have in store in the future as they continue to operate and set up new projects in this part of the world.

A Hard Days Work - Day 2

26th May

Day 02

This morning we started our work on assembling the VWOS.  Some of our bags of equipment had been held at customs when we arrived, so we started the morning by sending a small group to retrieve them.  The rest of us stayed back at the Villa to get started and do what we could despite the fact that many of our materials were in the bags that had been held.

Amanda and Ray gluing components

The tricky part of the work we did today was that the configuration of the system here will be altered from the one we built at Messiah College.  We had to pay special attention to make sure all the pieces lined up nicely. After all, seconds spent connecting things properly could save us hours of fixing them. 

(There were a number of slip-ups, but they were easily fixed. We may not be perfect, but we are engineers after all.)

Amy cleaning out the tank

Toby cutting pipe

After a lot of running around and with William's help, the team was able to retrieve the bags from the airport. Upon their return, we were able to continue our construction.

The accomplishments of a hard days work

As the sky got dark, we stepped back to appreciate some of the work.  Our accomplishments today include connecting to the water source, adding the pump, adding the tank, and attaching a few filters.  Tomorrow, we are looking forward to adding the rest of the components. Continue to pray for us as we engage the installation and wonderful people here at Villa Esperanza.

Hollow Fiber Membrane

Housed within the Collaboratory's Water Group, the Hollow Fiber Membrane Project (or HFM) is a project aimed at meeting water purification needs within the developing world.

Figure 1: The most recent Hollow Fiber Membrane Filtration System (HFM 2.1) mounted on a wooden board on a wall.

 

This project explores the use of hollow fiber membranes (which are essentially hollow tubes perforated with tiny holes) as a means of water purification. HFM filters do not require electricity to run, and existing water purification systems using HFM filters work well in serving smaller establishments.

Research shows that hollow fiber membranes are effective at disinfecting water, eliminating all impurities larger than .5 micron (which includes most pathogens). The latest setup (HFM 2.1) uses multiple Sawyer bucket filters attached in parallel, a sediment filter and an activated carbon filter. The system is set up such that each filter can be individually backwashed to remove impurities from the HFM filters. As a result, this system has a lifespan of at least 10 years if the HFM filters are backwashed as needed.

The HFM project is one of two projects that our site team is focusing on this summer in Nicaragua. The primary task to be accomplished for this project is to survey a church/school in Leon to determine the suitability of the HFM filtration system. The student working on this task, Toby Mea, will also take water samples to see if additional ultrafiltration of minerals is necessary. 

Our site team is very excited to be partnering with Forward Edge in this endeavor, and we look forward to how our partnership will grow as we work together, serving communities in need.

One Sunday - Day 1

25th May 2014

Day 01

The sun rose early here in Managua, Nicaragua, and so did our site team. After several delightful rounds of coffee and a hearty breakfast provided by the kitchen staff of Villa Esperanza, we were given the full-length grand tour of the Villa.

(wait a minute...that introduction sounds strangely familiar...)

Anyhow, once we were done touring the Villa Esperanza complex, we boarded a van headed to church. Coming along with us were our partners from Forward Edge, Jeff Thompson and Susie Miller, as well as the girls living here at the villa.

The church service was rather phenomenal. Personally, this writer has never been to a Latin American church service, and he felt a bit out of his element. However, the passionate worship and the spiritually-charged sermon made this writer, and the rest of the service team confident that the Spirit was active and present in the meeting.

This writer is reminded of a passage in the Acts of the Apostles, when Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to the assembly gathered at Antioch. In this passage in chapter 11 verse 23, it said that Barnabas "saw the grace of God, and he was glad" (ESV). There was no mention of anything else: no practices, no visual details, because these were superfluous What mattered was that the "grace of God" was there for Barnabas to see, and this writer believes that our team experienced that with the service this morning.

After the service, we returned to the Villa and ate a bountiful lunch with the same company from before. There, we were introduced to the girls living in the Villa and other members of staff, including other missionaries, house-mothers (it's a full-time job here at Villa Esperanza, and it is deserving of praise) and other friends.

At around three o'clock in the afternoon, a bunch of us from the Villa went on foot to a store nearby. There, we all savored some delicious snow-cones and spent quality time with one another. The site team members who were fortunate enough to be fluent in Spanish conversed confidently with the girls, forming friendships in the process; this writer, on the other hand, struggled to deal with the girls as he tried desperately to scrape up words to no avail.

Regardless of where each site team member was with their Spanish proficiency, we felt very touched by our experiences and the time spent with the girls living at the Villa. This writer hopes that the rest of the trip would be equally fruitful, and that God would bless our efforts tomorrow.

The Mission at Hand

The sun rose early here in Managua, Nicaragua, and so did our site team. After several delightful rounds of coffee and a hearty breakfast provided by the kitchen staff of Villa Esperanza, we were given the full-length grand tour of the Villa.

 The Team Houses in Villa Esperanza

Our tour guide for the day, Forward Edge senior missionary Susie Miller, explained in detail the layout of the complex, as well as the program that Forward Edge is running here. What Villa Esperanza does is takes in young girls whose families used to live in a small village in the Managua dump. While living in the dump, these families had to search for food within the trash.

Growing up living a dump created a different culture and lifestyle for these girls. There is a lot of abuse within the homes and often times the families would put their girls, some as young as nine years old, into prostitution in order to help sustain the family. They also force the girls to get married young so that there is one less child in the household to feed. However, once the husband no longer wants the girl, they return to the dump oftentimes with a child of their own. From then on, the girls no longer have the opportunity to go to school and this just becomes the norm of those living in the dump.

Villa Esperanza started with a vision to take these girls in and give them a better life. Currently there are 30 girls living at the Villa. There are four houses for them, eight girls per house and each house has a "mom" who cares for the girls. One of the houses is called the transition house where older girls live, around 19-21 years old, who take care of themselves and do the housework. These girls are either in university, finishing high school, or have full times jobs.

The staff at the Villa evaluates these girls based on maturity level and number of other things to determine when they can leave to start their lives outside of the home. Villa Esperanza gives all the girls access to a psychiatrist, a pastor, tutors, and a number of missionaries who help out with other needs they may have.

The vision of Villa Esperanza became a reality after much hard work since the property was bought in 2007. Because of all the hard work and support given, it has truly become a wonderful place for these girls to leave their old lives behind and receive the opportunities they would have never been given before. We are so thankful to be a part of the Villa this week to give them a water purification system to help them sustain themselves and keep it going.

Ante-Trip

It's hard to believe that in a matter of hours, our team of 6 will be embarking on our journey. With the help from our partner, Forward Edge International, our team of 6 (which includes 3 students, 2 faculty members and an industry expert) will be installing a Water Purification and Filtration system in a shelter home called Villa Esperanza, located in Managua Nicaragua.

 Top Row (L to R): Ariela Vader, Ray Knepper & Thomas Soerens

Bottom Row (L to R): Amanda Schneider, Amy Heindel & Toby Mea

The Village Water Ozonization System (or VWOS) team leaders, Amanda Schneider and Amy Heindel, have prepared and labored extensively leading up to this trip. Their system features a series of sediment filters, an ozone generator, and a clever arrangement of pipes to purify water in large batches. Housed within the Collaboratory's Water Group, the VWOS aims to develop and implement an economically, environmentally, and culturally sustainable water purification system to meet the needs of partnering communities.

We are most grateful for everyone's support and prayer thus far. We hope that by the Grace of God, we would be able to accomplish our various objectives. We also look forward to the myriad of experiences and lessons that we would gain from this trip.

Cheers.