Electricaid Project of the Month

Clean water transforms many lives in Ghana

The Teshie School Project, important as it is for ElectricAid, is not the only humanitarian project in Accra. Rescue Aid Mission is a small Irish Christian lay charity that seeks to help the people of Ghana. It has been working on community development projects in Accra for several years and volunteers in Ireland are involved in regular fundraising initiatives to help improve the lives for people living in the region. This ranges from provision of clothes and food, to outreach centres and the building of a school in Kasoa.

In early 2007, Rescue Aid Mission applied to ElectricAid to help fund a well-drilling project in Accra. The township of Kasoa receives zero government funding. Basic necessities such as clean drinking and washing water are luxuries to these people, to whom severe thirst was an everyday experience. Brenda Rose, the local co-ordinator of the project reported that, "Thirst is a major problem in Ghana. Our team was greatly impacted by this, having seen, first-hand, people actually wilting for want of drinking water."

Initially, there were problems with the project in Kasoa. The original company approached for a quote were unable to locate a water source. Having carried out a survey they could not find water-bearing zones in the area -a common problem in West Africa. The second contractor located a source and the work was completed and the water was running by the end of March this year. Payment has now been made and the people of Kasoa have a clean, constant water supply for the very first time. Some of the benefits they are now experiencing include:

• Clean water for drinking, cooking and washing.
• Alleviation of simple diseases caused by poor hygiene and dirty water – particularly in the young.
• Hoped-for eradication of river blindness and guinea worm diseases (serious incapacitating diseases that are common among the villagers).
• Elimination of long journeys in the summertime (by children and adults) seeking a source of frequently contaminated water.
• More time for children to apply themselves to school work, thus improving their education and their ability to overcome poverty.

The people of Kasoa can get on with their lives and give their children a better start in life. No one deserves to be born into a world where clean water and education are out of reach but the reality is that millions are in the same boat right across Africa. It is no coincidence that ElectricAid continues to fund these types of projects. It is basic-level community initiatives like these that are integral to the development of countries such as Ghana.

Sometimes a small boost, with your money, can do a world of good, transforming lives in the most basic and productive way. The total ElectricAid grant of €10,000 will actually cover this well and another well in Krokerwhe village. Can you think of a better use?