Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Thursday, Mr Adua Josiah Ayipaala of World Vision in charge of the WASH programme in the Kessena-Nankana West Area Development Programme said the organisation in two years had drilled about 43 boreholes in communities, clinics and schools in the district.
World Vision, he said, had also formed 24 school health clubs and trained head teachers and teachers in the programme at Sirigu, Mirigu, and Kandiga Area councils. It had again organised a competition dubbed: “WASH Quiz Competition” at Sirigu in the eastern part of the Kassena-Nankana West District for school health clubs.
WASH facilities were also provided to schools in the area.
Mr Ayipaala explained that the WASH Quiz Competition organised was to assess their level of understanding of issues on WASH and to ensure that the school children become change agents in their respective schools and communities.
He was disappointment that sanitation practices in the area was poor, especially with regard to open defecation and indicated that despite the fact that there were toilet facilities in some of the communities, majority of the people defecated openly leading to outbreak of communicable diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
He said under the “school-led total sanitation and the community led total sanitation projects”, they had the opportunity as school children and also as change agents to come together to mount crusades in their respective communities to educate and discourage community members on open defecation and encourage them to use the toilet facilities.
Reverend Monica A. Achana, the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator in charge of Kassena–Nankana West, entreated the school children to take the WASH issues seriously by becoming effective ambassadors in their schools and communities.
She noted that the Ghana Education Service regarded the health of school children as very important and that was why it was partnering with organisations like the World Vision and the UNICEF at ensuring enough education on WASH.
Rev Achana commended World Vision for working harder to reduce the recent cholera outbreak in the District by providing a lot of WASH facilities to schools and also educating the school children through their health teachers and formation of health clubs in the schools.
“If you become good ambassadors on WASH, government would use the money that would be spent on procuring drugs to treat you as a result of bad sanitation practices to invest in the education sector to support you”.
At the end of the competition, Sirigu Primary “A” emerged first, followed by Father Morin Primary and the third position went to Sirigu Primary B.
Nyangolingo Junior High School became fourth, followed by Kandiga RC Primary taking the fifth place.
The sixth, seventh and eighth positions went to Dasongo Primary A, Bugsongo Junior High School and Wolungu Primary School respectively.
Later World Vision presented WASH facilities such as buckets, rakes, and soap among others to all participating schools to be used in their various schools to maintain good hygiene and sanitation.
GNA