The Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC), an international faith-based charity organisation, has handed over two boreholes to two deprived communities in the Upper East Region to help address challenges associated with water.
The projects, valued at about GHS60,000.00, were constructed and commissioned for the chiefs and people of Molinsa and Kanania Communities in the Builsa North and the Kassena-Nankana West Districts.
The initiative formed part of the humanitarian activities the CCFC has been undertaking in the two districts since 2016 to improve upon the lives of children and their families and ensure that children, particularly girls were well educated.
At separate functions to commission the boreholes, Mr George Baiden, Country Director, CCFC, in a speech read for him, noted that source of potable water formed an integral part of all spheres of human survival and said the CCFC was committed to work with communities and relevant stakeholders to address challenges associated with water.
Since 2016, the CCFC has been investing in these two districts in the areas of health and nutrition, sustainable livelihood development and strengthening community organizations as well as education.
It is currently sponsoring about 1,600 children to ensure that they (children) at least achieved basic education.
Mr Baiden said statistics from the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization revealed that about 2.1 billion people lived without access to safe water at home and added that children particularly girls and women were the most vulnerable.
“Additionally, more than 700 children under five years of age die every day from diarrhea, which is linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation. Globally, 80 percent of the people who have to use unsafe and unprotected water sources live in rural areas,” Mr Baiden said.
The Country Director said for the world, particularly Ghana, to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal six, which discusses access to clean water and sanitation by 2030, countries must invest in sustainable water supply to make access to clean water easy for women and children.
Mr Baiden expressed optimism that the boreholes provided to the communities would reduce the amount of time spent, especially by girls and women to search for water and enable girls have much time to concentrate in school.
He said it also has the tendency to reduce incidences of outbreak of diseases such diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever, bilharzia and skin diseases.
Madam Theresa Baveng, the Programs Manager of CCFC, explained that water was life and said when there was easy access to water; it boosts economic activities as women would have enough time to work and cost of medical bills would significantly be reduced.
She therefore admonished parents to take the future of their children serious and encourage their wards to attend school, adding that when the children attain higher education they would be able to contribute to develop their families and communities.
The beneficiary communities expressed gratitude to the CCFC for the numerous interventions being implemented in the district to improve their lives.
Mr Asuu Ayelkunini, the Chief of Kanania, lauded the CCFC for providing the borehole to his community, indicating that the women and girls in the community used to trek far distances in search for water and added that the borehole was a huge boost to the community.
Whilst promising to periodically maintain the borehole to enable it last, the Chief appealed to the CCFC and other Non Governmental Orgainazations to assist the community with another borehole to help adequately serve the large population.
He further appealed for the construction of a school block in the community to improve on education in the area.
The Molinsa Community has a population of about 289 while the Kanania has about 1,500.
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