text: The Infra Innovations offices are located in the Smith Tower in Seattle, Washington. It is a beautiful building, constructed in 1914. Until the 1970's it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
  Among the many employees at Smith Tower is Moses Dut, who has worked there for 13 years, first as a elevator operator, and, more recently, in maintenance. Moses is originally from South Sudan, and is one of the Lost Boys of the Sudan.
  Moses and Valentino were among the 20,000 Sudanese children who fled their villages when they were invaded by forces from the northern part of Sudan. They walked barefoot across 1,000 miles of African desert to Ethiopia, only to be forced out by violence in that country. They then walked another 1,000 miles to Kenya, and spent several years in the Kakuma refugee camp. It was in this camp that Moses learned to speak English. Eventually, he was among those young men who were chosen to move to the United States to begin their new lives.
  The nation of South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in 2011, and is now in the process of rebuilding itself. Many of the young men who have spent the last several years in the United States are now returning home to take part in this endevour. Valentino, who is a true visionary, has established a foundation (the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation), dedicated to rebuilding his village of Marial Bai. He has succeeded in creating an outstanding "education compound", with a middle school, two libraries, a computer lab, and a teacher training program. He has especially emphasized the education of girls. This school has become a model for other schools throughout the country.
  Valentino has asked Moses to return and become the director of the school. Infra Innovations, Inc. is working with VAD Foundation to support and improve the Marial Bai Secondary School.
  In addition, our company is working on the projects described below, to help the quality of life to constantly improve in Marial Bai.
  Brickmaking in Africa is an important, yet backbreaking job. In many remote areas of Africa the bricks are made, laboriously, one by one. The mud is dug from the ground, then packed into a press that produces a brick, which is then added to a growing pile.
  There are, however, brick making machines that can significantly speed the process. One of these machines could make more bricks in an hour than a man could make in a day. The ability to produce bricks at this rate would allow for building the community much more quickly. It would also provide an excellent source of income.
  Statistics show that there are more cell phones in the world than there are flush toilets. This may seem like misplaced priorities, and although the need for flush toilets is crucial to basic sanitation and health, the use of cell phones is not frivilous.
  In many places in Africa, where roads are primitive or non-existent, and where walking is the primary mode of transportation, cell phones allow communication over long distances that not too long ago was inconceivable. They allow for families and friends to stay in contact, and make business dealings much easier.
  But lack of access to reliable electricity is a huge problem. Therefore, solar cell phone chargers have become very important. The regular practice is for the owner of a cell phone charger to set up in the local market, and people pay a small fee to have their phones charged, thus providing a service to the community, and a good income to the service provider.
  In many parts of Africa, the predominant source of energy is woodfuel, either in the form of firewood, or charcoal.
  According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), firewood and charcoal alone provide more than 40 percent of energy used in Africa. In fact, around 80 percent of households on our continent depend on wood and charcoal as a primary energy source.