Water-less community in Nadowli-Kaleo District finally gets own borehole

The clamor for safe and clean water has been an elusive dream for the 350 inhabitants of a deprived farming community with no school, no clinic and no electricity in the Duong Electoral Area of Nadowli-Kaleo District, Upper West Region called Beeli. The community has been suffering from unsafe water for the last 30 years until June 2019 when their fate changed.

Many inhabitants left the small community in search for better life, life that would give them a better water to drink. “Most of our children left the community because they cannot stand not having good water anymore. When they were small they were okay but when they got to know that there is a choice of having a good water source, they left the community and live somewhere else, especially our sons. When they are of age to marry, they go outside the village to settle because we cannot allow our daughters to suffer but when the news that we are getting a borehole came, we called our children and told them that we have water now and they should come back. They were very happy more than us because they know how important clean water is,” narrated Madame Golinaah Selina who live in the village for the last 30 years.

“We used to compete with the animals when getting water. The cattle are our competition with water because they will finish it if they get to the source before us, so when it is time for us to fetch water we will have nothing. It is better for us to compete with goats and sheeps because they will leave something for us. Getting water is a dream for me, I never thought I will live to witness the day that clean water will come to our village,” Tabam Roda lamented.

Tabam Dassah added that when they have strangers they are shy to offer them water to drink and food because the food especially TZ (Tuo Zafi) and Wakye when they cook them the following day it will spoil due to the kind of water they have.

These are the few of the many of the narratives of their water situation which most of them will now remain in the community and buried in their memories as Ghana Outlook-UK (G.O.) in partnership with Sahara Advocates of Change (SAC), changed their fate and made their dream a reality.

On the 27^th of June, the community tasted their first safe and clean water from the borehole dug 85 meters down. It was a day of joy and excitement.

“We trust that the new, convenient source of safe water will give immediate benefits to everyone, improving well-being, health and freeing up time which up until now has been spent seeking water, retrieving it and then, for drinking, boiling it. The newly available time now offers opportunity to live fuller lives and achieve. Your newly acquired borehole should then give you abundant safe water for many years to come,” said John Walker, a Trustee of the Ghana Outlook in a message sent to SAC, which was read read during the turn-over of the project.

He also added that the community should maintain the borehole well by not putting too much pressure in it and regulate its usage for longevity.

Lina Beneb, programs manager of SAC expressed her gratitude on behalf of the organization and its donor to the community’s cooperation shown during the two-week project implementation. She hopes that through this project, the community will now be able to live their lives to the fullest and they won’t get sick.

One of the component of the project was a sensitization on health care and water and sanitation where the community gained more knowledge on various water borne diseases and the importance of water. The community was also taught on how to fix any minor problems that will arise in the future.

About Sahara Advocates of Change (SAC): it is a non-governmental organization based in Wa, Upper West Region which aims “To bridge the gap in human development challenges in the remote areas of Ghana specifically on functional literacy, water and sanitation, environmental protection and conservation, health care and livelihood.”

About Ghana Outlook (GO): a UK based charity organization which goal is to assist rural communities to enhance their future through education and self-help programmes. (Press Release)