Packing!

It's almost time to fly out.  Our colleagues from past service projects have advised that we pack light but how does a woman going away for a month pack light?  After packing my work shoes, sneakers, flip flops, hiking boots, power cords, converters, I have run out of space before I even get to my clothes!  On one of our prep calls, it was suggested that it is customary for women to wear skirts or dresses in South Africa.  All of us are assuming this is an urban legend hence paving the way for...pantsuits :-)

And I have to give a shoot-out to my friends in New York City who got me this sweet cake as a send off even though it's only 4 weeks!!

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Is water a human right?

This space of water management is fascinating.  Tshwane is not located adjacent to any major source of water.  Up until a few years ago, they were using a small, local river (Vaal River) as their primary source of water.  As demand grew, they had to setup large inter-basin schemes to transfer water from other rivers.

Their supply is over 300 million m³ but at 25% water loss every year, that's close to 80 million m³ in unaccounted for water.  Are there broken pipes, old meters, billing issues, major leaks no one knows about or are people who really need the water using it and not paying.  Which brings up an interesting global debate - is water a human right?

In 2010, the United Nations issued a resolution recognizing "the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights".  The South African constitution also guarantees everyone the right to "sufficient" water.

I have a feeling we will hit upon many infrastructure, technical, social, ethical issues as we get deeper.

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Non-Revenue Water

It's hard to believe in 2 weeks we will be in South Africa!  We have been actively researching the topic of water loss and speaking to IBM's many experts in this area.  Many municipalities across the global are challenged in dealing with high levels of Non-Revenue Water or NRW.  NRW is water which has been produced and is lost before it reaches the customer.  Losses can occur for many reasons such as leaks, theft or meter problems.

 Some staggering facts about water loss from the Miya Group:

1. 2007 was the first year in which more than half of the world's population lived in urban areas.
2. Water consumption is expected to increase by 40% by 2025.
3. Over 1.4 billion people do not have access to clean safe water.
4. By 2025, one third of the world's population will be affected by water shortages.
5. More than a third of the world's drinking water supply is lost from municipal distribution systems before it reaches the consumer.
6. Every year over $18 billion worth of water is considered Non-Revenue Water.
7. In many developing countries the percentage of lost water is well over 30%, reaching even 80% in extreme cases.
8. Every year, more than 32 billion cubic meters of treated water physically leak from urban water supply systems around the world.
9. Only 10% of leaks are visible; the vast majority of leaks cannot be seen above ground.
10. If we manage to reduce NRW by just one half, over 130 million additional people would have access to fresh clean water.

Interestingly enough, Singapore has the lowest water loss in the world at 5%.  I wonder how they reached such low levels and if any of their best practices can be financially feasible for Tshwane?  Gotta keep digging....

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Prep underway

Weekly meetings are underway to prepare for our mission.  Our colleagues from IBM's Corporate Citizenship team have been fantastic in educating us about the program and coordinating logistics - IBM has deployed over 120 teams to more than 20 countries since it's inception so they have the process down pat! 

We've met with the IBM South Africa Country General Manager who took us through the cultural, political and economic environment there.  During our stay, we will be working with many local companies and officials so it's important to understand and be sensitive to the regional dynamics.  South Africa represents almost 1/3 of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP and it is a member of the IMF, World Bank, WTO and United Nations.  IBM first entered South Africa in 1952!

We've also been provided initial information about our project.  Tshwane, like many African regions, has a water problem.  Almost 25% of their consumable water is lost.  We will need to investigate what is causing the water loss and how to reduce it significantly.  Given that none of us are water experts, we must quickly get smart about smarter water management.  Pun completely intended.

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Where are we going??

I still remember the day in 2008 when IBM launched the Corporate Service Corps program.  I felt so proud to work for a company that would establish a month long leadership program focused on helping communities in emerging markets.  This year, I was fortunate enough to be selected for the Executive Service Corps program and have been anxiously awaiting information on where in the world I would be deployed for my assignment...Cambodia?  Malaysia?  China?

A few weeks ago, I got the letter I was waiting for:  Welcome to the Executive Service Corps Team - Pretoria.  First step, figure out where exactly Pretoria is!

Pretoria is one of three capitals in South Africa.  It is located in the Gauteng Province about an hour outside of Johannesburg.  It is part of the metropolitan municipality of Tshwane and has a population of 2.5M people.  I will be headed there this October along with my new teammates:
  

Join us on this journey as we get integrated into the corps program, understand our mission for the region and start our philanthropic adventure in South Africa.

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