Safe and Clean Water For Life; The Story of Ayenya No:1

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yenya No: 1 is in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana and is about two hours’ drive from Accra the capital. The community is also about 20 to 30 minutes’ drive from Dodowa with farming as the main occupation and has a population just over 300 people with over 90% being children and youth. The community not until last December when a Junior High School (JHS) block was built courtesy Orphan Aid (an Italian NGO), had no access to JHS and students had to travel 2 hours to attend school (JHS) by foot. As a result of the demotivation factor of long distance walk, fewer children were able to attend JHS and even with them, their performance was terrible. In terms of health, the community has access to a very tiny clinic also courtesy Orphan Aid, which is opened Monday to Friday and closed during weekends, so no access to professional health care during weekends. The community cannot boast of a single community public toilet. The only available toilet facility is the 5 tiny toilets for the staffs of the Primary (2), JHS (2) and Clinic (1). As a result of this, community members, both young and old, students and non-students resort to the bush when nature calls and the health hazard linked to this practice cannot be overlooked. 

standing beside the riverside

The peak of their plight is the issue of water and it is really terrible. Water we say is life but to the people of Ayenya No: 1, what is life to majority of people is life threatening to them due to their source of water, which is nothing to write home about. The source of water for the community cannot be described as a river neither can it be termed as a stream due to it being stagnant but the community choses to call it a ‘dam’. The water in question is very dirty, smelly, unhygienic and unsafe but according to the UNDP project on water, every drinking water must be clean and safe. The children and women have to walk one and half miles, just to fetch this life threatening water with containers, which when filled with water weighs 10kg to 20kg. The dangerous side to this pathetic and sad life is, children have to walk through the bush and also cross a major road that leads to Somanya (Eastern Region of Ghana) to get access to the route leading to where the water is. The danger is these children can be and are bitten by snakes on their way to and fro the water side as well as getting knocked down by vehicles using the major road.

As if this is not enough, the community’s only source of water is threatened by development on the land that harbours their source of water and at the completion of the project, there will be no direct access to the water and members will have to either walk 3 miles or more to get to the ‘river’ side. A company has bought 64 acres of land and is developing it and currently has walls on the property and the completion of the project means denial of water for the people of Ayenya No: 1.

A pictorial view of the source of water for the community

Safe and clean water plays an important role in the lives of every individual and it is very unfortunate and heart-breaking to see the difficulties Ayenya No: 1 community members go through, to have access to water that is not even clean and unsafe. The unclean and unsafe water is used for everything in the community; drinking, cooking, washing, bathing and others. This same water gets muddled by cows and because there is no alternative to it, the community has to still make use of the water. The health implications linked to the activities of these cows muddling the water cannot be ignored.

 With borehole water the community will have access to safe and clean water and the issue of unsafe and unclean water will be solved.

Poverty, hunger, health dangers and educational inefficiency on the part of students can be linked to unsafe and unclean drinking water. Students spend their school time having to walk one and half miles to fetch water, becoming tired and missing lessons or classes and this affect their education. As Nelson Mandela said “Education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to change the world”, so how can these children change or affect their world (community) if they are unable to attend school due to water issue. Due to the condition of the community’s source of water people get sick and unable to go about their normal activities; mainly farming and when farmers are sick there will be no food and when there is no food then hunger strikes. Food production brings economic prosperity or development, if producers (farmers) are able to sell their products and farmers getting sick mean their inability to go to their farms thereby leading to little or no production, which means no sales and profit made and as a result people become poor.

The very path leading to the riversideClean and Safe Drinking Water for Deprived Community

Therefore solving the issue of unsafe and unclean water for the people of Ayenya No: 1 will not have one benefit but four; health, education, economic and social benefits.

It is for this reason that I am pleading and calling on all and sandry to come to the aid of Ayenya No: 1 to overcome their water problem, before it becomes worse, which can lead to the whole community having to abandon the village as is the case in Ayenya No: 2. The inhabitants have left the village due to access to unclean and safe water.

A borehole water cost GH¢7000, which is equivalent to US$ 3200 or £1970 and it will save the lives of over 300 people. Education, Health, Economic and Social development are very essential elements in the development of every country or community, therefore helping the people of Ayenya No: 1 will be a step in the right direction. It will alleviate the sufferings of the people and put smiles on their faces

Thank you for your readiness to assist in this worthwhile initiative.

Please visit the fundraising page to donate and support this good cause to put smiles on the faces of the community.

http://www.gofundme.com/5kuwjc

 

The Most Powerful Weapon To Change The World Is Not Terrorism

Former President of South Africa; Nelson Mandela once said and I quote “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” and this emphatic statement is so true. We can talk of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) but as their name suggest, they destroy the world and not change or affect it positively. Everyone aspires to make an impact on his/her generation or change the society within which s/he lives and finds several means to do that but the greatest and powerful wheel, weapon and means to attain this aspiration is education.

 Some extremist individuals and organisation have resorted to terrorism to change the cause of the world thinking with their act of terrorism they will be able make impact and make their voices heard. But this is so wrong and disgraceful and ridicules the existence of man on earth.

Several individuals have achieved a lot through education and continue to affect the universe with the knowledge they have acquired through their education. Gangsterism, terrorism, suicide killings and all the negative weapons that we can think of doesn't contribute any positive thing to this world that we live in but destroy it.

 

If education isn't the most powerful weapon that can be used to change world why would the Taliban shoot Malala in the head for advocating for girl child education or education in general? They know the impact the educated can make in the world and saw the need to excommunicate her from the world so that she wont be able to affect or change the world positively. It is a shame how terrorist group do not make use of education to make their voices heard to bring positive impact into the world but rather resort to terrible means of dealing with issues. Those resorting to the use of war, Weapons of Mass Destruction, ammunitions and other deadly weapons with the aim of changing the world are losers who fail to make good use of education. 

 

There are two things that the world will remember us for: firstly the problems you helped solved and secondly the problems you helped created. Education can be used to solve diverse problems so let us make good use of it and refrain from the use of undemocratic and forceful/illegal means of pursuing our cause which only result in the creation of problems or compounding already existing ones.

 

A Ghanaian who was sold into slavery at the age of 6 and served for 10 years realised the importance of education, took hold of it and now affecting lives in Ghana and beyond through democratic means. Below is his story and how he is now affecting lives in Ghana and beyond. 

 

The CEO of United Shepherd (U.S) Group of Companies Ghana; Chief Godfred Mediciné was sold into slavery at the tender age of 6 by his mother due to poverty and served in slavery for 10 years but did not lose sight of the importance of education. It was his dream to change the world and make life easy for many without them experiencing the ordeal he went through and he saw idea as a panacea to achieve this dream. No wonder he wasn’t ashamed or perturbed to enrol in the basic school at the age of 16 where he was the oldest student. Successfully passing his BECE in flying colours, he did not have the requisite funds to fund his senior secondary school education. But with persistency and determination he resorted to farming and fishing to raise funds for this mission and was fortunate to hear about the Tsiame Secondary School (Volta Region of Ghana) admissions on radio, applied and was admitted to continue his education. He was still facing financial hardship during his secondary school education so had to skip classes on Fridays to have three days (Friday to Sunday) to engage in farming and fishing to finance his secondary school education and upkeep. He struggled to complete his education regardless of the hardship knowing that it is a powerful weapon to change the world.

Today Chief Godfred Mediciné after all his struggle he has managed to have access to the powerful weapon that can be used to change the world to affect many lives in Ghana and beyond by becoming the inspiration for the oppressed, food for the hungry, hope to the hopeless, and employment to the unemployed. He is now an entrepreneur, employer, author and motivational speaker. Though he was the oldest in basic school but now he employs some of his mates who thought he was too old to be at the basic level.

 

Some unconcerned groups see education as bad and as such fights against it causing havoc to states in Africa with Bukom Haram being key. From Chief Mediciné’s story there is no doubt that education is indeed the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Bill Gates knowing the powerfulness and effectiveness of education now support educational projects with billions of dollars and computers.

Take your education seriously to change your world and make a positive impact on the society within which you live.

OIL IN GHANA AND THE WAY FORWARD

Joining the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries sound a brilliant idea and news to a country but one we tend to forget is the effects this can turn out to have on the potential country. The effects range from economic to social and political and explodes when the necessary measures are not taken to curtail the situation at hand.

Oil like fire is a good master but a bad servant who can destroy the peace enjoyed by a country if not put under control or administered by proper administrators with laid down procedures to govern its exploration and exportation. Oil is meant to bring affluence to a country to enable citizens have a fair share of the national cake but what do we see in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and the likes? What is meant to unite a country and bring wealth has turned to bring hatred and division.

Ghana is blessed with variety of natural resources, which included gold, bauxite, manganese, cocoa, timber and now oil. The discovery of oil in Ghana in 2007 was a big news which was welcomed by all Ghanaians and the joy that came to majority of Ghanaians in 2010 when the exploration started was awesome especially those living in the oil city (Takoradi).

President Mills launching the exploration of oil at the Jubilee Fields

But it's one thing having the natural resources and another benefiting from them. Whether the country benefits or not all depends on management in terms of administration of the resources to satisfy and meet the aspirations of citizens instead of a few people who are in power.

Natural resources without good management and unity is tantamount to underdevelopment and destruction or misuse of nutrual resources. The reverse is exactly true as a country endowed with natural resources coupled with good management and unity tends to develop. A reference can be made to most Arabic countries who have developed greatly as a result of good management of their oil, using to beautify the country. Dubai in the United Arab Emirate has become a 'must visit destination in our days all due to oil and its proper management.
Why can't African oil producing and exporting countries do the same to ensure the development of their countries and their people to attract investment into the continent?

Oil exploration, production and exportation only adds 6% to the Ghanaian economy as compare to Nigeria where it is 92% (BBC, 2010 and indexmundi, 2012) with Ghana ranked 88th on the league of oil exporting countries. Though 6% is not a lot but when managed properly can go a long way to reduce the level of poverty and increase living standards among those in the oil rich towns and the rest of the country.
The mistakes of other oil exporting countries that have resulted in kidnapping of expatriates and fatalities cannot be repeated in Ghana and the requisite steps should be taken to prevent them. Niger and Delta States in Nigeria are faced with atrocities including the kidnapping and killing of oil workers and even indigenes due to the neglect of the government of the needs of the community members especially the youth. It is heart breaking when your State is poor knowing that natural resource and in the case of the Western Region oil is in abundance but no focus is placed on your plight. This is why in Nigeria the youth engage themselves in unacceptable actions that at times leads to their death in the oil rich States of Delta.

This child should enjoy from the proceeds from the oil

A recent documentary on TV3 and Metro TV (two of the private TV stations in Ghana) reviewed the anger of the natives living in the surrounding areas where the oil is exploited. According to those interviewed by the reporters, they feel cheated and relegated to the background in terms of development as they receive no benefits from the oil exploration in their region or community. The fishermen mourned bitterly about the harm that the oil exploration is causing as it is having negative effect on their fishing activities and nature. The exploration activities affect the aquatic environment and it was sad seeing dead fishes washed ashore. The youth who also complained bitterly about them not having access to employment though they have the requisite qualification.
The government of Ghana must ensure that these poor communities readily benefit from the oil exploration in their communities in diverse ways. Royalties can be given to the Chiefs and other traditional authorities to embark on developmental activities that can be measured. Since the exploration in some communities has led to destruction of water or river bodies which serve the communities the government should ensure the construction of portable water system to cater for the water needs of these communities.

It is when the needs and plight of these communities are neglected that they resort to violent means of demanding their rights. Ghana has been and is still a safe haven and has protected it peaceful environment attracting a lot of foreigners into the country. For this reason the peace that the country is enjoying must be protected at all cost. This is what were ignored by Cameroon, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and other African countries, which resulted in the destabilisation of their peace and internal wrangling retarding the development of the countries. Ghana has come a long way in terms of peace sustenance to allow the new discovery destroy their peace.

The discovery and exploration of oil in Ghana should not threaten the peaceful environment and the pace of development enjoyed by the country but should bring the country together in terms of political, social, cultural and economic development. If UAE has been able to achieve and reach where they are today then Ghana can.