By Michael Kofi Kenetey
As part of helping to improve access to potable water and sanitation to achieve Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 6, which are access to quality education and access to clean water and sanitation in communities, the Family Strengthening Programme of SOS Children’s Villages, Ghana, has commissioned five water pump-installed borehole systems at five community schools in the Abuakwa North Municipality of the Eastern Region.
The project is to help provide safe, hygienic, and potable drinking water to more than three thousand schoolchildren, teachers, and community members in Kukurantumi, New Tafo, and Old Tafo and its environs.
The commissioning of the five water pump-installed borehole systems was delivered under the Water Pump Installation Project of the SOS Children’s Villages, Ghana under the supervision of their local branch, SOS Asiakwa Children’s Villages.
The objective of the project is to help reduce water-borne diseases, improve the learning outcomes of children at the basic level, and also improve sanitary practices in the beneficiary schools and communities in the Abuakwa North Municipality.
The beneficiary community schools include Kukurantumi MA Primary and JHS, Kukurantumi Presby Primary and JHS, Obodanase Presby Basic School, New Tafo MA JHS, and Old Tafo Presby Basic School, all in the Abuakwa North Municipality.
In an interview with GBC NEWS during the commissioning of the projects, the National Director of SOS Children’s Villages, Ghana, Alex Mar Kekula, noted that through their family strengthening project, they have empowered families to stay together by addressing root causes of vulnerability and ensuring that families have the resources and support needed to be self-resilient.
He noted that their aim is to help improve the quality of education for the pupils at the basic level in the various communities. Mr. Mar Kekula hinted that the only way to help move the country forward is to provide the youth with quality education.
The Municipal Chief Executive of Abuakwa North, Alhaji Omar Babs Bodinga, urged the beneficiary communities and schools to own the projects to ensure that they develop a maintenance culture to maintain the boreholes.
He advised the assembly members of the various communities to institute committees that would help in maintaining the boreholes. He described the performance of SOS as phenomenal.
The Deputy Municipal Education Director in charge of Supervision and Monitoring, Frederick Apeadu Danso, noted that the borehole projects in the municipality will not only ensure access to clean and safe water but will also contribute to a healthier and more conducive learning environment for the schools.
He commended the effort of SOS Children’s Villages, Ghana, for such projects and highlighted some achievements of the municipality for the past year.
The headteacher of Kukurantumi MA JHS, Pastor Peter Agbeko, commended the organisation for its thoughtful contribution and benevolence towards the enhancement of school infrastructure.
He noted that initiatives as such will help improve the educational environment as well as foster a conducive atmosphere for teaching, learning, and the growth of young people.