With 2019 coming to an end, we decided on doing some self-reflection. Our entrepreneurs joined us at the Centre on the last Friday of 2019, and told us about their past year. We spoke about what they struggled with, and shared successful stories with one another. We would like to share our highlights here with our readers, as well as take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continuous support and interest in the SMART Centre.

Changes in the team

In 2019 there were quite a few changes in our team. As you most likely know, Johan joined the team in March and later in July took over the management position, as Reinier left Malawi and the Centre. His wife Rianne spent a considerable amount of time and effort into SMART Centre projects as well, so this left two spots open. Simone has joined in March as well, taking over some of the tasks Rianne previously did.

We welcomed Cecilia in November, who joined the team to help us with monitoring our projects. She’s proven to be a much needed helping hand, with Daniel leaving us for a new opportunity.

James has joined the YEP Programme, and finished his trainings in the Netherlands. His role is expanding, with more responsibilities fitting his newly acquired skills.

Succesful projects

We’ve had multiple projects running this past year, but would like to highlight two. The first being our Faith and Water project, where we go out into rural Malawi and visit communities, explaining the importance of clean water and sanitation. This project has been one of our longest running ones, and has been proven to be successful yet again in 2019.

The second project we’d like to mention, is the partly subsidizing of wells and sanitation with help of a donor. It is still ongoing, and we’re very enthusiastic about the results so far. This project has been a win-win for everyone. Our entrepreneurs are earning an income with the extra work coming from this project, and local people gain access to safe water and sanitation for an affordable price.

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Trainings

Of course, our core business is training local people in the production of our Technologies. In 2019, we’ve completed the following trainings:

• Solar pump training with a focus on electricity safety
• Apron production training
• Pedestal and slab production training
• SHIPO/Jetting training
• Rope pump production and installation training in association with …
• Faith and Water

More to come

This coming year we’re continuing our partly subsidized project, and are planning on extending the project due to the positive results. Furthermore, we are planning on some new trainings, training both our experienced entrepreneurs and new ones. We are kicking-off the year with a new way of monitoring our projects, to give anyone interested a better understanding and a more accurate overview of what we are doing. But more on that soon!

Thank you

We’d like to express our gratitude towards everyone who has been involved with the SMART Centre in 2019 in one way or another. We could not have done it without our staff, our entrepreneurs, our donors, our customers and enthusiasts. We hope to have your continuous support in 2020 and look forward to another successful year spreading the usage of low-cost WASH Technologies.