Duaponko community jubilates over potable water provision
Residents of Duaponko in the Afigya Kwabre North District in the Ashanti Region have been provided with a mechanised borehole, the first community-based potable water source.
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The water system, which came with a reservoir, was provided and inaugurated by Pecan Energies Ghana Limited, an oil drilling company, and initiated by the Buruli Ulcer Victims Aid (BUVA), a foundation very passionate about the welfare of persons living with Buruli Ulcer.
There was joy and display of enthusiasm when residents returned from their farms and market day at nearby Kwamang, and officials of Pecan Energies arrived to inaugurate the water facility and hand it over to the people.
The residents came out in their numbers, most of them with gallons, to fetch water to their homes, with the community agog with excitement.
School pupils in the community who at the beginning of the ceremony were in their classrooms, later moved to the site to witness the good news.
But for this gesture, residents had to walk several miles to neighbouring communities in search of potable water for their daily domestic chores.
Their only source of water, a stream called ‘Baako Wirem’, is not fit for consumption, as residents compete with cattle to fetch water from the stream.
Currently, four out of the 20 neglected tropical diseases: Yaws, Leprosy, Elephantiasis and Buruli Ulcer, have been identified among some residents.
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Grateful
“In fact, today is a special day for us.
We would be forever grateful to Pecan Energies for coming to our aid after several decades of our quest for good drinking water”, the Assembly Member for the area, Kwame Osei, said in his short remark during the inaugural ceremony.
“I don’t want to speak on behalf of my people.
They are all here, and the smiles on their faces alone tell it all”, he said.
The Kenyasehene Gyaasehene, Nana Kofi Agyemang, who chaired the event, was grateful to the donor for its timely intervention.
“At long last, the people of Duaponko now have reliable potable water,” he said, adding that all attempts to get the district authorities to provide them with good drinking water had fallen on deaf ears.
Again, he said the lack of electricity in the town, which currently has a population of about 1,200 left much to be desired and called on the government to intervene.
The President of BUVA Foundation, Emmanuel Agumah, appealed to corporate bodies to help complete an ongoing health facility in the town which is currently 60 per cent complete.
CSR
For his part, the Manager in-charge of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Pecan Energies, Edward Aryee, said “Today does not just mark an act of generosity by Pecan Energies but the realisation of our shared commitment to the community, compassion and responsibility,” he stressed.
“Duaponko and its neighbouring communities have faced the formidable challenge of Buruli Ulcer, a menace that has touched lives and demanded urgent attention,” he added.
Pecan Energies also donated test kits for Yaws and antibiotics to help fight the Buruli Ulcer disease.