I love my children. They mean the world to me, and I would do anything to make sure they are safe and healthy. As I work and travel around the world however, I came to realize that simple matters, such as access to drinking water – a basic human right – are complex challenges for many people and especially children. Many get very sick or even die after catching water-borne diseases. I wanted to do something about that. In 2016, I created Waterforeveryone, an NGO that would spread knowledge on water purifying systems. But information sharing did not have enough impact, and it was my dream to develop a concrete project that would directly benefit children. Coincidentally, at that point in my life, I had to travel to Ghana for work where I met our national expert on sustainable development, Albert Armooh, who conducted trainings on sustainability standards in Kumasi’s cocoa sector. We were out for dinner one evening, and I told him about Waterforeveryone. He loved it and wanted to support me that very instant. So together we jointly started a new project in Ghana to install water-purifying devices at primary schools. These devices do not require electricity and are very easy to use. To make sure that we are making a difference, we partnered with a US-based NGO Easy-Water-for-Everyone and invested some resources into monitoring our impacts: we collaborated with local clinics which surveyed all village children with water-borne diseases three months prior to the installations of water purifying devices, and then again every month during one year after the devices were first used. We were happy to note a significant decrease in children catching water-borne diseases. Albert is now the new Director for Waterforeveryone, and he still sends me regularly news and photos of the schools and devices. This is so enjoyable, as I can see the change and impact of just one idea combined with friendship resulting from regular work. We hope we can continue to make a difference in these children’s lives and maybe inspire others to pursue similar projects!

I was privilege to be selected to participate in Tropenbos International-Ghana’s (TBI-Ghana) the student platform project between 14th June to 17th of September 2004. This was a 14-week project on interdisciplinary and intercultural group research. The project had different groups made up of Ghanaians who had graduated from universities in Ghana and were awaiting their compulsory national service. In the groups, also, were European students at the bachelors and masters level. I was in a group of seven participants all from different educational background. In my group, there were four (4) Ghanaians, two (2) from University of Ghana (UG), one (1) from University of Development Studies (UDS) and myself from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). In addition there were three (3) Europeans, one (1) from Wageningen University-The Netherlands, one (1) from University of Aberdeen-Scotland and one (1) from University of Amsterdam-The Netherlands. In the context of interdisciplinary and intercultural group research, we worked on “Promoting community-based eco-tourism management in Ghana, using Bobiri Forest Reserve as a case”. The Bobiri Forest Resrve is one of the eco-tourism sites in the Ashanti Region. Its management has been the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-FORIG) and available reports did not show much attention to community involvement. Our study, therefore was to identify ways to involve fringe communities in eco-tourism activities there. In order to achieve our objective, we used the Triple “P” Model by John Elkington. It served as the basis of our theoretical framework to reach a balance among socio-cultural, economic and ecological sustainability in eco-tourism. Our study identified that community members showed high interest in participating in eco-tourism activities but their key challenges were financial constraints, low level of education and lack of community initiatives. We therefore recommended among others that the communities should be educated and trained in eco-tourism activities. This was to ensure that they were able to contribute in diverse ways in the eco-tourism economy there. It was also to ensure that they derived direct and indirect benefits from eco-tourism activities and also as a way to sustain the reserve. The one of the challenges we identified was which “vehicle” was the best to drive the recommendations of our study. We recommended the establishment of the Friends of Bobiri Forest Reserve to spearhead the implementation of our recommendations. I had the opportunity to become the first coordinator. It was launched under the auspices of TBI-Ghana and CSIR-FORIG in 2005. Its first initiative was to setup a bicycle station at Kubease for tourists. This was done with support from TBI-Ghana. It was managed by the community under the supervision of TBI-Ghana and CSIR-FORIG. I left this project appreciating the dynamics of working with communities and their members. I also appreciated the how the Triple P model plays out among stakeholders in a real world situation. The "Triple P" model, also known as the triple bottom line, is a sustainability framework that emphasises People, Planet and Profit as interconnected pillars for achieving a sustainable future. This model suggests that businesses and organisations should consider not only their financial performance (Profit) but also their social impact (People) and environmental impact (Planet). By balancing these three pillars, organisations can create a more sustainable and resilient future for themselves and the world around them. I worked with and experienced its rudiments at play. Following the student platform project, I had the privilege to work with the Plant Resources of Tropical Africa (PROTA) programme as its Assistant Regional Officer for the Anglophone West Africa Office which was housed at CSIR-FORIG, Kumasi. My experiences here showed me how knowledge from different disciplines work at the professional level. I learned that science and technology is not only abstract but also practical; project and programme management hinges on good planning and the discipline of execution at all levels other than adequate funding; critical role of data and database managed; leadership is key at all levels-locally and internationally. These will become important “tools” in my professional “toolbox” among others. I was empowered to deliver world-class outputs. Looking for a context to focus my professional interest, I found sustainability, particularly the triple bottom line sustainability framework as an appropriate one. This was not necessarily only because of my academic background but also my observations and experiences with sustainability projects, programmes, research and leadership. I have since then used sustainability as the basis of all my decisions and works. So in the late 2008 when I visited the Abono side of Lake Bosomtwe, located in the Ashanti Region of Ghana for the first time in the company of a friend who had worked there, I analysed my experience I had there in the framework of sustainability. I identified activities which could be implemented among those already existing there to promote sustainable tourism. I had the opportunity to share ideas with the owner of a facility called Lake Inn. We decided to pilot speed boat to increase visitor experience at the lakeside. This was successfully implemented to the delight of its patrones. Paradise Resort, Lake Bosomtwe, a 20-room facility, agreed to include some of the ideas shared with them after a survey done to ascertain visitor satisfaction levels on the Abono side of the lake. In one year we made two important addition to visitor experiences. These were the re-introduction of a known but hardly used hiking trail. The other was, we organised the first Lake Bosomtwe Paradise Resort Tennis Tournament. This was a huge success bringing together tennis players in Ashanti Region and also from the Ghana National Tennis Team. These were modest but significant additions to the already existing visitor experiences at the lakeside. In September 2009, I had the opportunity to participate in a project in Ehredingen, Switzerland. The project was under the auspices of Service Civil International (SCI)-Switzerland. My group worked on “Conflict Resolution”. As part of the side attractions of the project I had the opportunity to visit the Alps. There I saw one of the effects of global warming. This was the melting glazier which results in increasing the volume of sea water. The resultant effect is the displacement of communities living near the sea. In Ghana, communities such as Keta in the Volta Region has communities displaced and a sea defence projects has been done to minimise the effect of the increasing volumes of sea water. Returning the same year, 2009, I collaborated with the Peace Corp programme in Ghana to send volunteers to Nyameani and Kuntenase all in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region. With cognisance of my previous academic background and work experiences, I studied MBA [2013-2015] majoring in International Business. In 2016, I was privileged to have been hired by the International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint agency of the UNCTAD and WTO, as a national consultant on sustainable development. The assignment was to conduct trainings on sustainability standards in the cocoa sector in Kumasi. Following a successful first assignment, I had dinner with my supervisors who had come to join me in Ghana for the trainings. Mathieu-a senior advisor told me about his water organisation called Waterforeveryone and the vision and motivation behind it. I glad to know and was more than interested to support. This was because of my work experiences particularly those on Lake Bosomtwe, and my academic background. Following my previous works at the Lakeside, it was a terrain I was familiar with and knew the project will be accepted and supported. Indeed, it was accepted and received needed support. In March, 2017 we launched our Ghana project. In partnership with Easy Water for Everyone, we have worked in 5 communities, completed 4 projects and have 2 on-going projects. All together we have a little over 9 years of experience working in the Ashanti Region-Ghana. As I become the new director of Waterforeveryone, my vision is to see Waterforeveryone’s presence in every district in Ghana in the next five (5) years. I seek to achieve these through setting up 10 self-sustaining projects in 10 districts every year in Ghana using lessons from our over nine years experiences. The details of our self-sustaining project model will be launched in August, 2025. It is my belief that with my experiences and commitment to the mission of Waterforeveryone, I will be able to achieve the objectives of setting up 10 self sustaining project in 10 districts every years in Ghana.