The Sahara Advocates of Change (SAC), an NGO, has saved the residents of Waadungyiri, a farming community in the Tawoncheli in the Wa West District, from the daily hurdles of accessing potable water. The SAC, with funding from the US Ambassador’s Special Self-Help programme, constructed and handed over a borehole fitted with hand pump to the community at the cost of about US$5,000.00 under the ‘Safe Water for Waadungyiri’ initiative. The water facility was expected to benefit about 500 people at Waadungyiri and adjourning communities, saving them from the risk of waterborne diseases. Speaking at a brief ceremony at the community to hand over the borehole, the residents, especially women, expressed joy over the facility as it would help save them from the ordeal of having to trek several kilometers to other communities to fetch water or resort to the stream for water. Madam Dientuur Baaburo, a resident, noted that women and girls bore the brunt of the lack of a single source of water in the community since they had to scout for water for the family’s use. ‘We used to fetch from a muddy stream, which we had no other option,’ she said. Madam Sakina Ngnaa, another resident, indicated that they used to compete with both domestic and wild animals for the water at the stream, which she acknowledged posed a serious health risk to them, especially children. She said the borehole in the community had reduced their pain, adding, ‘We thank you (SAC) for this intervention, God bless you.’ Mr Kumah Maxwell, the Assembly Member of the area, assured the benefactors that the community would take good care of the borehole to preserve its life span. Madam Sapphire Carrington, who represented the US Ambassador to Ghana at the event, expressed hope that the borehole would help reduce the risk of the outbreak of water-borne diseases in the community. She thanked the community members for their commitment, support and cooperation throughout the facility construction period, which she said was an indication of their readiness for the intervention. She said the US Ambassador’s Self-Help programme was distinct and had helped provide support to community development across West Africa since its inception in 1964. ‘Over the last three decades the US Embassy in Accra had distributed over US$2.3 million in self-help grants to support community development projects across Ghana’, Madam Carrington explained. She indicated that the Waadungyiri community project was one of the seven selected projects out of more than 250 applications for funding that year and said the community members demonstrated strong community support for the project. She said the successful completion of the project was a testament to the importance they attached to the development of the community, their health, and well-being. The Programme’s Manager of SAC, Madam Beneb Lina, urged the community members to cultivate a good maintenance culture, adding that maintenance was the sole responsibility of the community. She said the organisation had been supporting rural communities in the country with such interventions and assured the Waadungyiri community of more support whenever the resources were available. The SAC was aimed ‘To bridge the gap in human development challenges in remote areas of Ghana, specifically on functional literacy, water and sanitation, environmental protection and conservation, health, and livelihood.’
Source: Ghana News Agency
