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The safe water trust - Ghana Visit February 2011
Ghana is classified by the UN as having a low income, earning less than $1 a day. The main purpose of our visit was to visit the two sites with Aquafilter Communities.
First Site
East Ghana, near the Volta Lake about 180 Km from Accra.
Partners Original Volunteers (an England based charity that sends Volunteers on short and longer placements). Our contacts, Fred, Rebeka and Sam were very supportive and enthusiastic, driving us round and discussing with us the problems of the area.
Aquafilter Community No 24. Donated by 2 former volunteers, Karen Williams and Jo Perks is in a small village by the Lake called Nkyenenken. It s located in the school and is used to filter water for the children, teachers and local community. The headmaster reported a drop in sickness and diarrhoea and also routine blood tests of the children showed a drop in Bilharzia in the 6 months the filter had been used.
This village illustrated the problems frequently found in trying to get clean water.
a) In the rainy season rainwater was collected and stored but the plastic container was mouldy inside and impossible to clean.
b) Two non-working bore –holes
c) A bore-hole that gave water smelling strongly of hydrogen sulphide.
d) a small stream that was now dry
e) the lake – a substantial distance away and contaminated with pathogens and bilharzia( a parasite causing eventual liver and kidney failure).
f) A well that was no longer used as it caused stomach illness. When tested the water was badly contaminated.
The Aquafilter Community we brought will be used with the well, lake or stream .
Aquafilter Community no 25 also donated by Karen and Jo was in the local clinic and provided clean water to both the staff and patients.
Aquafilter Community No 41 and 42 donate by Ponteland Rotary Club and taken by Derbyshire College is in large very poor village on the edge of the lake. Volunteers are helping to set up a bakery to make and sell bread in the village and later to other villages. The filter is used to provide clean water for both drinking and making bread. I tested the Lake water normally drunk and it was badly contaminated.
WATER WORKS
We visited the local waterworks, built in the 1970’s. It did not have enough water or the capacity to supply the towns and was in need of repair. There was no money for refurbishment in the near future.
Future Plans. Fred, Rebecca and Sam are very enthusiastic to become involved in the project and we are looking forward to working with them. We left 2 Aquafilter Communities we had brought over with us. No102 donated by Saxmundham Inner Wheel and No104 from our Fundraising Burns Night
There is an urgent need for safe water for the many villages using the lake water and also the local towns. We demonstrated the filters to the District Chief Executive and the NCD Party Chairman. Both were interested. We plan to send out more Aquafilter Communities with Volunteers. There has also been an interest in marketing and selling the Aquafilter Family to people in the middle income group. We will send 10 Aquafilter Families for demonstrations and Fred will look at the potential market in more detail.
Second Site
Location Cape Coast area – near the coast 150 Km west from Accra.
Partners Global Volunteers, who mainly send out pre-medical and medical students.
Aquafilter Community No 46 Donated by Loughborough Beacon Rotary Club is located at an orphanage in a rural area approx 8 miles from Cape Coast. The orphanage was set up and is now run by donations and volunteers. They have piped water but when this fails they are forced use water from a contaminated well.
Aquafilter No 48 Donated by Loughborough Beacon Rotary Club taken by a volunteer Phoebe is in a small village about 20 Km from Cape Coast. The people farm yams, coconuts; maize etc. for their food and any excess is sold at the local market. Water is obtained from 2 open wells. From my tests I confirmed both are contaminated with pathogenic bacteria. The Aquafilter Community had developed a small leak which John mended. In the new moulded design this cannot occur.
Aquafilter No 50 from West Boldon Brownies and Yvonne Cracknel We took this to a small very poor village on an unbelievably rutted road. The water supply was a very contaminated open well. We taught the villagers how to use the filter. They learnt quickly and did not have a problem using it.
Future Plans – Eric knows of two other villages using very contaminated water. We plan to send to further Aquafilter Communities to him with volunteers. We will also send an Aquafilter Family to use in the volunteer house. At the moment small plastic pouches of drinking water are used, so the filter will save money and pollution from plastic.
Accra West Rotary Club
We had visited this club in summer 2007 to mend the original Aquafilters and sort out problems with their Rotary Matching grants. Since then they have built 7 bore holes
We demonstrated both new Aquafilters and they were very interested.
The Medical Mission Church
We visited Pastor Derek Amanour in Accra. They are in contact with Aquabox and about to receive 400 Aquaboxes for poor villages in the far north of Ghana. The Pastor would welcome more Aquafilters a major problem in these villages is clean water.
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