Residents of Baware, a farming community in the Okere District of the Eastern Region have benefitted from a Ghc90,000 mechanized borehole facility automated to pump and store water half a Kilometer to a Basic School in the community.
The Project is part of the Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene(RWASH) Project being implemented in 36 communities in Eastern, Central and Volta Regions by Plan International Ghana.
The intervention by the NGO has come at a time access to safe water supply to keep personal hygiene in the wake of coronavirus pandemic has become a daily necessity.
Residents of Baware Community had suffered water stress situation for hundreds of years. The Ghc90,000 mechanized borehole has therefore relieved residents from the stress of walking long distances to fetch water from the river side since a borehole provided some years ago is dysfunctional.
School children in Baware Community say the water facility extended to provide uninterrupted water supply to their school would help in improve hygiene among pupils when school resumes.
“At first when we come to school and we need water to do something unless we go to the riverside to fetch water and by the time you come back it will be too late.so this water will help us stay in school, get water to wash our hands especially we the girls when we have our menses. It Will also help us prevent coronavirus when school reopens. Esther Minta, a student told Starr News.
Women in Baware community worst affected by the water stress situation endured over the years are now relieved.
“At first we didn’t get safe water here. we used to fetch from the river but that river had bilharzia parasites so it infected our children. They used to urinate blood so we decided to get a borehole but for years now it doesn’t function well we still fetch from the river so we are Happy for the provision of this water” Florence Budu a 60-year-old farmer said.
The Eastern Regional Manager of Plan International Ghana Kofi Adade Debrah said the water facility is part of the RWASH Project but also complimentary to support by Plan International Ghana to help government contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic.
“This project also tailors into that because now the whole campaign is about prevention in two ways.That is preventing self-contamination and also ensuring social distancing and make sure that people don’t contaminate those who don’t have the disease.We have introduced this water facility here to promote access to water so people could wash their hands with soap under running water so that they can stay clean and minimize infection”
The DCE for Okere Daniel Kenneth said the interventions by the NGO in the district is impacting positively on education ,health and economic empowerment with cumulative effect improvement in standard of living of the vulnerable.
“Since i took over Plan Ghana has been helpful not only this community but also six other communities.The impact of their projects is great to the extend that people were trekking long distance to fetch very very unwholesome water.They have helped us achieved five open defecation free communities as well.Their education projects have also help in Changing the narratives”.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM