By Philip Tengzu
Gbare, (UW/R), June 02, GNA- Women and girls in the Gbare community in the Jirapa Municipality have been relieved of the hassle of scouting for water at cock-crow after WaterAid Ghana and Guineas Ghana commissioned a solar-powered water system for the community.
The project was funded by the Guineas Ghana Brewery Limited (GGBL) under its “Water for Life” project, a key pillar of the “Society 2020 Spirit of Progress”, a social intervention programme of the GGBL.
The water system had the capacity to produce about 58,400 cubic meters of water annually, expected to benefit an estimated 5,000 people, and had also been connected to the health facility in the community.
The project, executed by Pumptech, was the second intervention in the municipality after a similar system was handed over to the Sabuli community in 2022.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at Gbare to commission the facility, Madam Patricia Ansotee, a community member, said women and girls in the community used to wake up by 0400 hours to search for water.
“Sometimes by the time we return, our husbands have already gone to the farm and when we send the food to the farm late there will be a fight between us and our husbands.
With this water system, we don’t struggle to get water again. Our children don’t also have the struggle to get water for the house before they go to school”, she explained.
Madam Ansotee indicated that their children previously had to fetch water for the staff at the facility to enable them to deliver health services to the people, especially pregnant women.
Madam Sauda Fuseini, a nurse stationed at the community, expressed gratitude to WaterAid and GGBL for extending the water to the health facility as they used to go through challenges in accessing water for health service delivery.
In a speech read on her behalf, Madam Helene Weesie, the Managing Director of GGBL, said access to clean water and sanitation was important in building a strong, thriving and resilient community.
She observed that the project would present enormous benefits to the people in the community, especially women and children.
She said the Gbare community was dear to the heart of GGBL due to the crucial role the community played in the production of sorghum for her company.
“The rich agricultural heritage of this community has contributed to the success of Guineas Ghana, and it is fit that we reciprocate by investing in their wellbeing”, Madam Weesie stated.
“The project is to ensure that the livelihood of the people is improved especially for our girls to ease their burden of having to search for water before going to school…” Madam Sylvia Owusu-Ankomah, Cooperate Relations Director of GGCL, said.
Madam Ewurabena Yanyi-Akofur, the Country Director of WaterAid, expressed gratitude to GGBL for its unwavering commitment to improving the livelihoods of people in rural communities across the country through the provision of safe water for communities and health facilities.
“They have really demonstrated their commitment over the years in partnership with us (WaterAid) to make sure that sustainable development is truly achieved in our country, particularly in hard-to-reach communities”, she said.
She observed that water was a fundamental human right but that many communities in the country do not have access to clean potable water.
Madam Yanyi-Akofur, therefore, said the water facility would help ensure access to water and improved sanitation by the people in the Gbare community.
She also thanked the community members for their support and cooperation throughout the project implementation.
Mr Nicholas Soyiri, the Jirapa Municipal Chief Executive, said the intervention by WaterAid and GGBL was in line with the government’s vision of ensuring universal access to clean water and sanitation in the country.
GNA