Can you imagine not having access to toilet or potable water? Can you imagine not having privacy when you need to relieve yourself? Although unthinkable for those living in wealthy parts of Ghana, this is a harsh reality for many in deprived communities – it is believed that one in three people in Ghana does not have access to a toilet, and clean drinking water! Have you ever thought about the true meaning of dignity?
In Ghana, most children in public basic schools have no access to a decent toilet facility and in cases where there are toilets, the facilities are nothing to write home about or they are just inadequate for the teeming number of school children that need to use them. The case of Ghanaian children not having access to decent toilets and water is a heartbreaking one especially with Ghana being a signatory to so many international conventions on the rights of children.
It is for this reason that Water aid in partnership with European Union and Globe productions are engaging MPs and key stakeholders through drama on the right of children to access clean water and good toilet facilities as part of this years’ World Water Day celebration. The innovative bit of this is that the children are going to tell their own stories and the negative effect of the lack of WASH (Water, Sanitation and Health) on them via drama.
This drama titled ‘Bring Back Our Rights’ by Latif Abubkar tells the story of school children who are fed up with asking and pleading for their rights of having unfettered access to decent toilet facilities and clean water, and the effect of the lack of WASH has on their health. They decided to do the unusual; go on to the streets and demonstrate for their rights.
The play will be staged on the 22nd of March, 2017 at the State Banquet Hall at 4pm. It’s the objective of Water Aid, European Union and Globe Productions to use this drama performed by the children affected to influence MPs and key stakeholders to take necessary actions to resolve these problems.