Friends of Ukweli

1. Hassan 
   1. Acts as a translator while we are on the ground. He currently is our community outreach employee and later he will be the distribution manager once we obtain product registration. 
   2. Hassan helped us with translation and country relations. We gave him money.
   3. Not a symbiotic relationship yet because we have not properly compensated him, he’s being paid federal minimum wage and is our most important employee. He should be compensated at a surplus rate, not the other way around.

or

1. 1. Symbiotic because we are providing some sort of livelihood. We benefit in that he gets our test strips into the market and publicized.
   2. Transitioning to the Distribution contract will make our partnership stronger
2. Carrie Jo
   1. World Hope Consultant on healthcare issues
   2. helped us meet the DMO in 2018 and find data on Koinadugu, Tonkolili, and Bombali districts. Helped Jordan with radio programs.
   3. CHAMPs project lead, useful to our venture because we can model our venture off of some of the things CHAMPs employs (ex: messaging strategy)
   4. Symbiotic relationship: Carrie Jo wants to improve maternal health in Sierra Leone, was even willing to give up some of World Hopes talk segments to promote our venture. We ask her for advice on how to establish relationships on the ground. 
3. Lori Herz
   1. Laboratory/ Technology advice for the project. 
   2. Not a symbiotic relationship. (She does get acknowledgments on the papers) We basically go and ask her for advice for chemistry stuff. 
   3. She gives us lab space. 
4. Allieu
   1. The Ukweli team relied on Allieu, as the health director of WHI, to assist operations in Sierra Leone, providing logistical support for Hassan and to champion our product at the Pharmacy Control Board. 
   2. Allieu pushed our product at the PCB and helps Hassan manage his job of distributing test strips to clinics. He also helps out with getting the test strips from the Freetown port to the WHI Makeni office.
   3. Symbiotic because Allieu took this project on as part of his paid job responsibilities, and Ukweli benefits from his expertise and knowledge in-country
   4. This partnership could be strengthened by Allieu internalizing our venture’s mission more and pushing the PCB and MOHS to procure our test strip nationwide. Ukweli could also strengthen the partnership by providing earmarked funds for his responsibilities with the venture, instead of allowing Ukweli to fall as a side gig to his larger role with WHI. 
5. Sue Baggott 
   1. She served as an outside partner to Ukweli in regards to funding acquisition.
   2. Sue provided us with insights regarding how to go about crowdfunding prior to fieldwork and checked in on us while on Mountaintop
   3. Not a symbiotic relationship, we gave her a gift from SL (I think?) but other than that we didn’t really do anything to help her out. She seems to enjoy advising and helping people with venture creation
   4. Continue to utilize her for help on potential funding sources to strengthen the partnership
6. Saidu
   1. Mr. Country Director 
   2. John Lyon and Khanjan connected us with Saidu
   3. He makes big funding decisions, facilitates decision-making forums
   4. Yes it is a symbiotic relationship because he wants World Hope to have as many successful projects as possible. Also his livelihood. We benefit because he makes progress happen with people on the ground. 
   5. Hasson and Allieu report to him, he holds them accountable which helps us
7. Bockarie
   1. Works in the finances office and keeps track of the test strip inventory. He also gives Hassan support on the ground. He sends updates every week. 
   2. He helps us by keeping us updated with what is happening on the ground. We help him in the way we help Allieu. It is his job. 
   3. This is a symbiotic relationship he gets paid. 
8. Sylvester 
   1. Finance administrator and Makeni office lead (unofficially)
   2. Oversight on Hassan, he helps us with storage of test strips
   3. We provide him an impactful project and more capital in the office
   4. Symbiotic because he benefits from being a good manager

 

What constitutes the partnership 

How did the partner help you? How did you help them 

Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or Why not 

What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable? 

 

Coalitions

 

Friends of Ukweli Coalition

• • Our Vision: 
    • 0 maternal mortality rate
    • Government of SL (Ministry of Health) Takes over the operations and distributes throughout the country
    • Expansion into Liberia and surrounding countries in West Africa
    • Focused on repairing damaged healthcare systems in developing contexts
    • Want more hospital partners to get the screen-diagnose-treat continuum 
  • Would invite:

 

• WHO

 

• • • We Care Solar
    • Malnutrition team
    • Documentary team

 

• Government of Sierra Leone: MOHS, Pharmacy Board

 

• • • Funders in US and international markets
      • Grand Challenges Canada 
      • Venture Well
      • USAID
      • Gates Foundation
      • NORAD
      • DFID

 

• Nurse society (from Freetown)

• World Hope International

 

• • • Human rights NGOs and some doctors
    • Doctors Without Borders (MSF) to collect clinical data on maternal mortality
      • They already work in Sierra Leone https://www.msf.org/sierra-leone
      • https://www.msf.org/new-hospital-counter-high-mortality-rates
    • Focus1000
    • Marie Stopes

 

• IEEE representatives

 

 

 

Team Name:Ukweli Test Strips Date:10/6/2019
Goals	Cassidy: Ensure that the marketing license gets approved so our test strips can be distributed and sold to CHWs and clinic staff around Makeni. Maintain communication with Allieu to ensure he is working and collaborating with the Pharmacy Board.  Jordan: Solidify funding sources for the team moving forward as a means to comfortably fund operations and Hassan’s salary and help out with logistics as the project moves forward (with our product registration in the near future) and as issues arise.  Naakesh: Maintain and monitor the interactions between our partners on the ground in Sierra Leone and Lehigh. Optimize Ukweli’s operations while the Marketing License is still being processed. Optimize the con-ops for when the Marketing License gets approved. Identify and address potential failure modes for the venture.  Rohan: Perform necessary lab work like comparative accuracy results for the test strip. To research and find a company that can perform proper sensitivity and specificity analysis at an absolute level. Sage: Finish and publish Gabi’s paper. Keep internal budget of project expenses on World Hope end and flag any discrepancies. Searching for funding sources to sustain Ukweli. Government relations with Sierra Leone. Zach: Create a WhatsApp group to communicate with Community Health Workers and other Ukweli Health Workers to provide them with information on how to market and use the test strips. Another goal is to produce at least 1 article that is published for Engineer 4 Change, which will help publicize Ukweli and help with possible funding plans. Project Goals/Scale of Goals: One of the shorter term goals for Ukweli is to expand fully throughout the Bombali District. Currently we have the resources to create relationships with PHUs and CHWs by having Hassan travel throughout the district, but further expansion will require more resources. Metrics of Success: Hassan’s relationships with clinics and CHWs based on the number of test strips sold. The CHW responses we get from Jawaras randomized calling.
Roles	We all depend on each other to succeed. However, there are some roles we have designated on the team based on the team member’s major. For example, Rohan and Naakesh collaborate more closely on the lab and quality control side of operations. We do try to play by strengths and people’s interests for when we assign a task. However, we also like to encourage anyone to take up certain tasks because they can offer a different perspective. The roles and responsibilities our team typically takes are: -Naakesh: project management -Zach: graphic design, marketing and messaging -Rohan: quality control, assay research & development -Sage: budgeting, grant writing, research -Jordan: messaging, grant writing -Cassidy: device and medical regulations, messaging
Procedures	In terms of decision making, Ukweli has generally been able to discuss our plans and then modify them to the point where the whole team can come to a consensus on what to implement.  The team meetings that we hold are more than doing work on the project. The meetings are more used to discuss steps to take for the immediate future and to update the rest of the team on the progress of individual team member’s work. Zach usually keeps notes on the meeting as a whole, but the rest of the team contributes to note-taking when necessary. The team keeps up good communication through GroupMe where the whole team is responsive to any requests and questions other team members may have. Ukweli utilizes Google Drive for the majority of the teams work so the team can see any changes a team member makes as soon as the changes are made.
Relationships	Our team is fortunate to have built, maintained and sustained solid relationships between the six of us. Each team member not only is committed to the success of the project, but also remains steadfast in supporting one another. No matter what occurs, we are all ready and prepared to jump in and be flexible and do whatever is required to correct or resolve the situation or advance the project. The connections we have developed have allowed us to understand one another in a more personal way outside of the project, which in turn translates to greater chemistry and a smoother experience when doing work related to Ukweli.