Afrophilia continues the conversation with the international volunteer Dr Todd Stong…

Question:
What brought you to Africa?

Having lived and worked as an engineer overseas for about 15 years in Europe, Asia and Latin America, much of it in rural areas, I believe I have obtained a view that 98% of Americans have not experienced. Even the 3-5% of Americans that travel out from the USA go mostly to Western type destinations and to resorts. I expect that far less than 1% ever venture to Africa in a lifetime and if they do it is for a Safari in Kenya or something at a Western level in South Africa, both of which are totally unrepresentative of the real Africa.

Most importantly I have seen that half of the world that is living on an income of less than $3 per person per day. While I have seen deep pockets of poverty in Asia and Latin America I could see they also had regions that were on a par with Europe and America. More importantly I could sense they were growing, with populations gaining widespread education, ascending the technology ladder, moving towards democratic ways, and having some sense of law and order. Yet as I peered from the outside into Africa I almost always saw near total poverty and little evidence of a possible better future. Thus, when I retired 10 years ago and decided to focus the rest of my life on humanitarian efforts, being a volunteer engineer, especially for water supply, I decided Africa had to be the premier challenge for seeking success and thus the best mountain for me to try and climb.

“Africa is the world that none in the USA know; the world that has the most challenges on earth, and thus it seems to be the last most Western programs wish to claim….So very few in our glorious nation know the day to day struggle that the masses in Africa face each sunrise to just obtain water and food and stay clear of violence. Many of those that hear my stories here in air conditioned comfort of the USA think I am speaking of a world beyond earth, that I must be spinning a fiction.” – Dr Stong.

My family in short order told me they preferred I look to a more civil, less dangerous part of the world like Latin America. As I was searching the Internet for water supply opportunities in Africa I was called one day in 1996 by a Nigerian friend who lived in Maryland. He said that his father had passed away in a rural area of Nigeria. My friend the said he would like to invite me to accompany him to the funeral which would be held a few months later since travel was not possible during the months of the current rainy season. I asked if he thought I could do something there with water supply during such a visit. He said he would make contacts for me. I agreed to go and about 4 months later we were in the air on our way to Lagos, Nigeria via Amsterdam with a follow on flight 300 miles to the east to Owerri in the Ibo/eastern region of Nigeria.

After reaching the Ibo lands beyond Port Harcourt and Aba over rather poor roads, I participated in the many funeral rites that lasted for over a week in the rural village setting. I then began to contact officials regarding my potential to assist with water supply.

For near three weeks I met many officials in Abia State, discussed challenges, visited existing urban water systems, shared ideas for progress and then went on to create some designs and proposals for water supply work in rural areas. Often the officials in charge attempted to hide the water problems and deny me access to key areas. However, in time the government asked me to make a formal proposal for the rebuilding of a $25 million water plant, that, built with World Bank funds 5 years earlier, had failed due to neglected maintenance and the lack of technical skills in the highly bloated staff hired based on family relationships. After considerable effort given to design, cost estimation and planning, I presented a proposal. I was quickly met by a key official, an assistant to the military governor, who informed me that while I might volunteer my services free, I would need to add to my proposal extra costs and make an agreement with him so that he personally would receive 30% of the cost of the project. There was absolutely no concern if the people had water or not!

A week later I returned to the USA and from there tried unsuccessfully for several months to have my proposal considered by others in the government. I also by email sent back to Nigeria plans for several rural water projects in the hope that villagers would gain good water while some rich men who might fund them would gain the profits they sought. None of them made it for each sense of any private profit was quickly claimed by government officials, capable of making new regulations on a daily basis, thus negating any private initiative.

For the next couple of years my contact with Nigeria continued over email with advice on rural water. I also began to look for ways of trying to help worthy young people who I had met in Nigeria to begin small businesses. In that the key was lack of capital I began to offer one-year, no-interest micro loans. This effort spread into Ghana and Sierra Leone. In the latter I set up a year’s technical training in Nigeria for one young man so he could return to Sierra Leone to begin a computer school. In less than two years our school was rated number one of its kind in the nation. Over a period of about 8 years I have had detailed contact over email with about 200 Africans in helping them with questions about water supply or in helping them begin small businesses.

Then in 2004 the Worldwide Organization for Women found my name on the Internet as a free engineer. They contacted me and asked if I would design for them a bridge to cross a river in Nigeria. The challenge was that while two villages looked across the river at each other, the people in the one village had not been able to cross during most of each year due to crocodiles. Once I designed the bridge, I was then asked if I would go to Nigeria and supervise its construction with a force of 30 volunteer natives from the two villages. I agreed, adjusted the plans for accomplishment all by hand labor, no heavy construction equipment, and with the next dry season, 2005/2006.

I traveled by myself to Anambra State, again in the Ibo sector of Nigeria. In four months we built a 264 ft (80 meters) long bridge to carry a 3 ton vehicle and foot traffic. The last bridge built over this river by the government took 3 years and cost 15 times as much.

In summary, I remain of the strong belief that Africa is the most challenging place in the world to seek ways to better life for its people. Our personal small efforts are meant to find ways that may serve as examples to others who may join in this quest. I have an interest in Africa because I feel I can help. I also believe that millions of other Americans with needful skills would wish to help if they knew the need and how they could make a difference.

See the Part1 of the series: Afrophilia: Meet Dr Todd Stong – A Retired American Army Engineer and International Volunteer

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