Launching the Sand Dredger in the Ezichi River

With the first dredger ever on the Ezichi River, this milestone allowed the ongoing Anam City project to take on a new trajectory. This is the first time the Ezichi River has been mechanically dredged; currently local source sand from the river manually using a process that is slow and unsafe. The mobile dredging boat will allow increased  flexibility for year-round provision of sand at volumes required for the construction of the city project.

The construction of the Anam dredger was initiated in January 201 to augment the scarcity of sand in the region and, specifically at the Anam City site. Before now, the process of bringing sand to the site has been a very difficult task. This is because the only alternate beach is at Otuocha, where a tipper can purchase sand and deliver by road. Otu-ocha is a town 50-kilometer away from Ebenebe Anam.  The newly installed dredger at Ezichi River will make sand available for the New City.  Construction of the boat has finally come to completion as the dredger has fully commenced operation today.

Dredging is an excavation activity usually carried out underwater with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location. This technique is often used to keep waterways navigable.  In our case, it is the next in our series of ‘seed businesses’ that can help to generate jobs and funding, as well as providing an immediately local resource (i.e. sand) vital in the construction process.  The dredging business is an exciting economic development angle for the Chife Foundation, as it has potential to generate funds that can further support the initiatives underway in Anam. 

Dredging is also used as a way to replenish sand on some public beaches, where sand has been lost because of coastal erosion.   The process of dredging creates spoils (the excess material), which are carried away from the dredged area. Dredging can also produce materials for land reclamation or other purposes, usually construction-related.

Because dredging involves the removal of accumulated bottom sediments it is also used to maintain or enlarge a navigation channel or for the purposes of waterfront construction, utilities placement and environmental remediation.    Anam farmers have indicated that the Ezichi has reduced in size and depth significantly in the past 10 years due to erosion (caused by recent tree cover loss) which has augmented the problem of sedimentation in the Ezichi River.  Many will be glad to see the river dredged as it can help to keep it navigable.

There is some concern over the environmental effects of dredging and disposal of dredged material (sometimes contaminated), the increasing unavailability of suitable disposal sites and dredging role in supporting waterborne commerce have combined to raise public interest in dredging and disposal of the material.

Clinton Global Initiative awards honorary membership to Chife Foundation

We are proud to announce that the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) has extended an honorary membership to the Chife Foundation for 2012.     Each year, CGI offers a limited number of complimentary membership invitations to nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations such as our own.  Bridging knowledge and action, our work was recognized for its merit in the track of sustainability in the built environment.

CGI was created by President Clinton in 2005 in an effort to translate ideas into action. The mission of the Clinton Global Initiative is to inspire, connect, and empower a community of global leaders to forge solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

“I have the utmost respect and admiration for President Clinton and the impact he has made both nationally and globally,” Executive Director of the Chife Foundation, Mrs. Gesare Chife said learning of the invitation.  “This is a great opportunity for the Foundation to build awareness around the wonderful work happening in Anam and to connect with organizations that share our commitment to action.”

Mrs. Chife will attend the CGI Annual Meeting in September, where of heads of state, government and business leaders, scholars, and NGO directors gather to analyze pressing global challenges, discuss the most effective solutions, and build lasting partnerships that enable them to create positive social change.

Chife Foundation staff will also attend the Mid-Year Meeting on Monday June 25th in New York City.

New LOGIC for Africa

S-E-T SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK

The urgent need for sustainability today demands new systems of thinking and new approaches to problem solving — new spheres of logic.  Societies are no longer considered independent of the natural environment and neither can both exist outside of the influence of technology.  The Logic of the ANAM model is the unique conceptual basis and theoretical underpinning of our sustainability perspective, which lives in the confluence of three spheres: Sociologic, Ecologic and Technologic (SET).  The three spheres together form a regime of sustainability in which all three interactively control viability, performance and outcome.  These mutually reinforcing logics are used to assess each urban design strategy.

Sociologic: Communalism and interdependence are embedded in most African traditional cultures, yet often lost in modern society.  Because a truly sustainable urbanism is facilitated and manifested through its social roots, it must be grounded in cultural heritage, both in practice and in form.  Thus the system of collective progress, as defined by the society itself, is most resilient against socially destructive forces and reflective of the African tradition of development.  Therefore, a sociological strategy is understood as one that is culturally relevant, collectively improves human quality of life and encourages responsible citizenship.

Ecologic: Africa is blessed with abundant and diverse natural resources. The local ecology has been a source of physical sustenance, creative inspiration and a struggle for survival.  These three experiences are independently significant yet must be fairly and simultaneously addressed. Therefore, an ecological strategy is a balanced and respectful management of natural resources that meets human needs, enhances natural beauty and mitigates natural hazards.

Technologic: There is an urgent need in Africa for practical solutions to life-threatening problems stemming from natural and man-made causes.  An ‘urgent practicality’ means solutions must be readily implementable, scalable and able to yield tangible results for the present generation. Furthermore, local innovation within traditional systems is an important counter to the vulnerabilities of aid dependency. Therefore, a technological strategy is a practical, problem-solving application that appropriates indigenous knowledge systems, advances innovation, supports resilience and optimizes processes (time, money, resources).

Economics, though traditionally understood as the third sphere of sustainability, is excluded from this SET not as a devaluation of the global phenomena, but to advance the assertion that a system of production of material wealth is not central to, but results from the collective endurance and progress of humankind as derived from this SET.  The model posits the Logical SET of interrelationships as the basis for articulating a truly sustainable city, one that is both uniquely African and universally laudable.