Borehole project commences at Avenue Cluster of Schools

A borehole project has commenced at the Independence Avenue Cluster of Schools in Accra to address the cluster’s long-standing water crisis.

The cluster of schools has faced a severe water crisis that has affected academic activities for years.

With no reliable source of clean water on the premises, the schools have had to depend on supplies from water tankers, which hardly last up to a month.

The situation had consequently placed a heavy financial burden on the schools and created serious inconvenience for both teachers and learners.

To address this challenge, the Girl Power Initiative, launched in 2024 by the Asere-Amartse We Manye, Naa Amorkor Shika Futru I, in collaboration with the schools’ management committee, is constructing a borehole for the schools.

The project, estimated to cost GH¢60,000 and set to be completed before the close of the month, aims to provide a sustainable source of clean water to promote health, hygiene and academic work, while addressing challenges such as poor sanitation, frequent illnesses and accidents that occurred when learners walked out of the premises in search of water.

The first borehole under the initiative was completed at St Mary’s Anglican School, fully funded by the traditional council.

Why the project

Speaking at a ceremony to cut the sod for the project in Accra last Wednesday, Naa Shika Futru said she was troubled to find schools in the nation’s capital without potable water.

She explained that the initiative was designed to bridge such gaps while also attracting corporate and institutional support.

“This is Accra, the capital city of Ghana, yet schools here are struggling without water.

We couldn’t sit back and watch learners suffer, so we decided to take action even before any external support comes through,” she said.

Naa Shika Futru stressed that water was a basic necessity for education, adding: “If there is no water, how do you expect students to have a sound mind to learn? Water is life, and that is what we are giving to our students”.

She urged more organisations to partner traditional leaders to expand the project and provide life-changing support to schools in need.

Appreciation

The Headmistress of Independence Avenue 1 Basic School, Ernestina Yawa Asiedu, described the development as a huge relief.

“The lack of water in the school has posed serious challenges.

On many occasions, we have had to buy water from water distributors, and that would not even last for a month.

The situation has created inconvenience for both teachers and pupils, so we prayed for a lasting solution,” she said.

Mrs Asiedu expressed profound gratitude to the committee and its patrons, stating that the intervention would ease sanitation burdens, improve teaching and learning conditions and safeguard learners’ health.

She appealed for more support from corporate bodies and development partners to improve the learning environment.