Kpalworgu Sand Well
New essential water supply will be available for the 4500 community of Kpalworgu, Wa, East District of Ghana
The tractor, low tech, aging yet in pristine condition, was shipped to our Ghanaian partners, Coalition for Change in early 2016 and they employ a driver and mechanic who take the tractor to women’s cooperatives in several communities in the Upper West, there they plough the land over a larger area and quicker, thereby increasing farming yield. The cooperatives pay for the service from the proceeds of selling surplus production.
The upper west region of Ghana has an 8 month long dry season and has many ephermal river tributaries with deep sand beds. Ghana Outlook, in partnership with the Kpaloworgu community near Wa, wanted to trial the first sand dam to be built in Ghana. It would be built across a suitably identified tributary, which was believed could retain water in the upstream sand throughout the dry season. It was agreed that the Kpaloworgu community would provide all free labour and Ghana Outlook funded the skilled construction of the dam itself.
The people of the Upper West are subsistence farmers, but the 8 month dry season means much of the year there can be no farming. Honey production, soap making and shea butter making are being taught to women groups in the area, by our local charity partners Coalition for Change, as a means of supplementing the meagre income. The Livelihood Project is supported by Ghana Outlook.
Nimbale primary School in Upper West depends on a single borehole for safe water. The borehole is also close to one of several Nimbale settlements and is used by residents outside school hours. Consequently, the yield had fallen and the pump and apron were in poor repair. Ghana Outlook has funded a new borehole close to the settlement and has paid for the refurbishment of the Primary School’s borehole.
Safe water is only part of the requirement for rural communities in Ghana. Safe sanitation in the semi-arid north of the country is also a challenge. The primary school children at Nimbale were reluctant to use their dry latrine toilets as they were havens for flies and generally unpleasant. Ghana Outlook suggested simple changes to the building so that flies and smells are nolonger problems.