The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, in collaboration with the Millennium Child Support Group (MCSG), a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), and with funding from Spanish Cooperation, has provided a borehole to the Dakuma/Heil Basic School in the Sissala West District in the Upper West Region.
The borehole is to complement the school feeding programme that the commission, in partnership with MCSG, is implementing in the school, in order to improve school attendance and enhance the well-being of the pupils and children at large in the beneficiary communities.
This brings the number of boreholes the commission has provided in the region to two. The first was commissioned last July in the Jirapa District.
Benefits
At the commissioning last Wednesday, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MCSG, Godfrey Ato Parker, expressed his belief that providing the community and students with easy access to potable, clean water would improve health and educational outcomes locally and, by extension, across the district.
He said the main objective was to promote child and infrastructural development that addressed the fundamental needs of underserved communities.
“This borehole will greatly alleviate the burden on the schoolchildren and community members who had to trek long distances in search of safe drinking water,” he said.
He urged students and the community to utilise the facility responsibly, to ensure its longevity.
Commendation
The Communication and Advocacy Officer of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF) of the ECOWAS Commission, Francis Dabire, commended MCSG for the initiative, noting that the water project represented more than just access to water.
He said the project symbolised hope, dignity and collective progress and urged the community to leverage it to enhance their livelihood through agro-ecological vegetable gardens, and promote livestock farming to enrich school meals with animal protein.
He reiterated the impact the water facility would have on education in the community by reducing absenteeism and easing the water collection burden on girls.
“Girls are disproportionately affected, often missing school to collect water, which is essential,” he said.
Life changing
The District Director of Education for Sissala West, Chakurah Dramani, described the facility as life-changing, saying it would significantly reduce the burden on the children of the community.
"The Millennium Child Support Group's technical team and sponsors have made a life-changing impact on us," he said.
He said the facility would not only promote hygiene but also help maintain discipline, boost attendance, and ensure sustainability, and was hopeful that the project would be extended to other underserved communities.
Joy
A pupil of Dakuma/Heil Basic School, Alex Amane, could not hide his joy at the commissioning of the water facility.
He said he would no longer have to walk long distances in search of water and was grateful to the MCSG for the assistance.
He added that his school was already benefiting from the School Feeding Programme, spearheaded by the NGO on behalf of the ECOWAS Commission.
That, he said, had solved the hunger problem facing some of the pupils, allowing them to focus in class without being distracted by hunger.
