Impacting generations: A case of Rotary’s intervention in Bole School WASH project

A GNA feature by Philip Tengzu

Wa (UW/R), Jan. 19, GNA – Students of the Bole Senior High School (BOSEC) in the Savannah Region can now heave a sigh of relief as they no longer compete with reptiles and other wild animals in the bush in search of hideouts to attend to nature’s call.  

The relief came after the Rotary Club of Wa, in partnership with the Rotary Club of San Jose, California, United States of America, commissioned a USD100,000 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and other education-related projects at BOSEC in November 2024. 

Aside from the possible attacks in the bush, the students were also saved from the risk of sanitation-related diseases such as typhoid fever and cholera resulting from open defecation, which was, hitherto, endemic.  

The Kurabaso D/A Primary School at Bole also benefited from the USD100,000.00 worth project.  

The Situation  

Access to decent WASH facilities by students at the Bole Senior High School had been a major challenge compelling them, especially the females, to resort to using open-air unclean bathrooms.  

The situation, in no mean terms, negatively impacted the academic activities of the students, especially the psychological and emotional effects associated with defecating and bathing in the open.  

Rotary’s Intervention  

To salvage the situation and bring some hope and relief to the students, the Rotary clubs provided a 32-unit bathroom fitted with modern shower accessories and a 20-seater bio-digester. 

They also renovated a 12-seater septic tank water closet toilet facility, all dedicated to the female students of the school. 

Additionally, the clubs replaced four leaking overhead water tanks with stands and mechanised four existing boreholes to improve clean and potable water supply as well as rewired two-story classroom blocks of the school. 

At the Kurabaso D/A Primary School, the benefactors renovated a dilapidated three-unit classroom block with an office and provided 180 metallic dual desks. 

The partner Rotary clubs also drilled and mechanised a borehole with an overhead tank and renovated a four-seater bio digester toilet facility for the school to enhance access to clean WASH services. 

These projects are expected to impact the lives of about 1,700 direct and indirect beneficiaries of the two schools.   

The Rationale  

The partner Rotary clubs cut the sod for the commencement of the USD100,000.00 project at BOSEC and Kurabaso D/A Primary School at Bole in April 2024 to alleviate the sanitation and related educational challenges.  

Madam Alfreda Eghan Afisah Yahaya, a member of the Rotary Club of San Jose, led the initiative to mobilise resources from the Rotary Foundation through her Club and was executed by the Rotary Club of Wa.  

Narrating the circumstance that birthed the project, Madam Yahaya said her visit to BOSEC about three years ago revealed the poor condition in which the schoolgirls found themselves, amidst open defecation due to poor access to WASH facilities. 

She said about 650 girls at that time depended on an indecent 12-seater toilet and took their bath in an “old fashioned bricks open stall with no indoor plumbing” coupled with poor water supply due to leaking water tanks, which touched her heart. 

Situation at Kurabaso Primary School  

Madam Yahaya explained that she was struck by the poor state of the classroom block at the Kurabaso Primary School, one of the oldest basic schools at Bole, resulting in congestion in the classrooms. 

One of the three classrooms was in such a bad state that it was referred to as a “death trap” and placed under lock and key. 

As a result, the children were jammed in the two classrooms, which impeded effective teaching and learning. 

“Instead of 35 children in a classroom, there were about 75 to 80, and when I went, there were some of them hanging outside the classroom,” she said. 

There were a couple of girls writing on the floor on pieces of paper, let’s just say there wasn’t a lot of learning going on there.”  

The compassionate Rotarian, also a native of Bole, bemoaned the lack of a WASH facility for the students and teachers, separate from that of the community. 

That informed the need for Rotary Club’s intervention, she said, adding that: “Solving real problems takes commitment and vision.” 

At a ceremony to commission the project, Madam Yahaya said: “This journey wasn’t without its challenges but with perseverance and collaboration we overcame each obstacle, thanks to the unwavering support of our partners.” 

Project Impact 

Mr Zakarea Al-Hassan Balure, the President, Rotary Club of Wa, said the successful completion of the project testified to the “kindness and commitment” of Rotary to impact the lives of the less privileged. 

The newly commissioned facilities would empower and uplift the Bole community, especially the children and the students passing through BOSEC and the Kurabaso schools. 

Bolewura Sarfo Kutuge Feso I, the Paramount Chief of Bole Traditional Area, commended the Rotary Clubs for the intervention and said the facilities would help improve education in the community and promote dignity among the female students. 

Rotary International worked in areas of Education and Literacy, WASH, Mother and Newborn Health, and Peace among others. The newly commissioned projects, therefore, fulfill the demands of these focus areas.  

Mr Agambire, the Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Wa, under whose tenure the project was initiated, was full of joy that they would impact generations in WASH, basic education and literacy.  

“Executing projects such as these fulfilled the purpose of being a Rotarian to impact lives and humanity.”  

Project Sustainability 

Sustaining the projects is a major concern for the Rotary Foundation and Rotary Clubs that champion development initiatives. 

Mr Jonathan Kwofie, the Service Project Director of the Rotary Club of Wa, urged the management of the schools to maintain the facilities to ensure a longer lifespan.  

Consequently, two committees were inaugurated to oversee the sustainability of the projects in their respective schools.  

The Rotary  

Rotary is a global network of more than 1.4 million neighbours, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in the communities and in the members themselves.  

The heart of Rotary is the dedicated members, who share the ideals of service, friendship, diversity, integrity, and leadership. 

Rotary works to promote peace; fight diseases; provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); save mothers and children; support education; grow local economies and protect the environment.  

The Rotary Club of Wa, chartered on 25th June 2016, has impacted lives in the Upper West Region and beyond in various spheres including WASH, health, and education with support from the Rotary Foundation, and in partnership with other Rotary Clubs and Rotarians.   

It has donated medical equipment to the Sabuli and Karni Health Centres and a hospital in the then Wa campus of the University for Development Studies now SDD University of Business and Integrated Development Studies. 

The Club also executed the Jirapa Water expansion project (the legacy project of the Rotary club of Windsor Canada in the celebration of 100 years in Rotary), and drilled more than 20 boreholes for communities in the region among other things.  

Madam Yahaya also facilitated the formation of the “Rotary E-Club Savanna, Ghana” in the Savanna Region to contribute to Rotary’s mission of developing the communities. 

GNA