Promoting good health and quality eduction
One to three poor children in Ghana share a toilet facility with 16 or more households, according to a study conducted by UNICEF Ghana. Other studies around the globe indicate that 32 per cent of the world’s population – 2.4 billion people – lacked improved sanitation facilities, and 663 million people still lack access to potable water.
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The above statistics paint a description of the poor Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices in developing countries such as Ghana. The situation is no different at the Zongo Laka community in Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region, where many residents depend on limited ‘pay-for-use’ public toilet facilities.
According to a survey conducted by SOS Children’s Villages Ghana, about 70 per cent of local households lack proper toilet facilities; a situation that compels children and adults to resort to open defecation at obscure places in a bid to avoid the long queues for the use of limited public toilet facilities.
Further investigations revealed that most of these public toilet facilities do not operate into the late hours of the night and, therefore, families with no proper toilet facilities resort to the use of buckets, pits or polythene bags as a means of convenience.
Coupled with lack of good sources of potable water, these poor sanitation activities is a guaranteed prerequisite for the prevalence of outbreak of ailments such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoea and other forms of health risks associated with unhygienic environmental practices.
Contribution of SOS children’s village
It is worrying to note that children are the worst affected when it comes to issues regarding poor WASH practices. The sheer negligence of their parents and community members often have dire consequences on their health.
The gory sanitation picture at the Zongo Laka community prompted the swift intervention of the SOS Children’s Village Ghana. The non-governmental organisation has constructed a 20-seater biofil toilet facility and borehole for residents within the community and its environs.
The NGO is a social development organisation with strong emphasis on child welfare and this is evident in the several developmental projects it has constructed in deplorable communities nationwide to ensure that vulnerable children are supported with basic amenities to support their growth and development.
Our community intervention activities, undeniably, complement government’s effort to national development, but with strong priority being given to vulnerable children.
After several projects undertaken by different governments to curb the spate of poor sanitation practices and open defecation, it has become obvious that a country with approximately 25 million will require assistance from other key stakeholders such as this NGO.
In consideration of the health dangers posed by poor WASH to children within poor areas such as the Zongo Laka community, SOS Children’s Villages Ghana has, as part of its efforts to ensure that children grow in a conducive environment, increased access to basic sanitary facilities.
This gesture is also in line with the organisation’s commitment to six of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely: Poverty Eradication, Good Health, Quality Education, Good Jobs and Economic Growth, Reducing Inequalities and Promoting Peace and Justice.
The construction of the water and toilet facilities did not only fall under the SDG Goal three, which talks about the Promotion of Good Health but also that of SDG Goal 4 which touches on the Promotion of Quality Education.
Aside the poor sanitation practiced by residents of Zongo Laka, children, especially girls, are sometimes denied their right to education because they are forced to spend long hours of their day fetching water for their families for domestic household chores.
These girls spend hours to trek long journeys in search for good water at the expense of their education. Other forms of direct support provided by SOS Children’s Villages Ghana include the payment of school fees for needy families, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) dues and exam levies for vulnerable families.
In promoting quality education for children, SOS Children’s Villages Ghana has also renovated toilet facilities at the Public Ashaiman Cluster of Schools.
Aside these projects, the NGO has for the past five years embarked on several sanitation campaigns to sensitise households and caregivers in
Ashaiman to the need to adopt and maintain proper waste management practices for the promotion of good health of their children.
As part of efforts to maintain and sustain the facility and thereby make it accessible to all; and in consideration of the rate of poverty levels, token charges for its use has been priced at very low costs.
The goal is to improve the hygienic condition and prevent common ailments such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery and other forms of sicknesses associated with poor sanitation.
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Also, children aged 0-6, physically challenged persons and the elderly will be exempted from payment for the use of toilet services.
Ongoing projects by the organisation in the Ashaiman area include Technical Vocational and Educational Training (TVET) for youth and caregivers, sanitation campaigns and sensitization programs, Parental Training Workshops.
Brief facts about SOS Children’s Villages Ghana
Established in 1974, SOS Children’s Villages Ghana has committed itself to working in the interest of vulnerable children by providing them with support in the areas of basic care, education, good nutrition, shelter, healthcare, strengthening of their families and advocating for their human rights.
In pursuit of these principles, the organisation runs two major programmes, namely Family Based Care (FBC) for children who have lost parental care and Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) for children who stand the risk of losing parental care.
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