A SCHOOL'S FIGHT FOR PROPER HYGIENE: HOW A BOREHOLE BRINGS HOPE
Written by: Yewoe Ocloo
Did you know, there are still schools in Ghana with limited access to water for their students, which results in poor hygiene within these schools? According to data made available through a UNICEF report, about 7,332 out of the 20,738 (36%) public schools in Ghana do not have toilet facilities, while 6,922 do not have urinal facilities. The UNICEF data also states that 11,985 which represents 58% of basic schools, do not have water facilities.
It’s on this premise that whilst I was tasked to attend the groundbreaking event for the borehole drilling project at St. George’s Anglican Basic School, I took time to interact with students and teachers to understand what their challenges were, and the impact this intervention will bring to their learning environment. The many students and faculty of St. George's Anglican Basic School have had to manage the upkeep and maintenance of their washroom with limited water, often buying up to 25 gallons of water on a daily basis. The lack of running water has caused the bathrooms to become a major sanitary issue for students and teachers alike, often resulting in waterborne diseases within the school.
In a strategic measure to mitigate the challenges posed by lack of water within the St. George’s Anglican Basic School, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and United Way Ghana have come together to drill a borehole on site in an attempt to change the current state of affairs. St.George’s Anglican School, a basic school located in Chokor, hosts over400 basic students, who spend the week having regular classes and engaging in extracurricular activities such as football and dancing. The everyday activities of the students and teachers necessitates the importance of proper sanitation and hygiene, a fundamental aspect of education in today’s world. Some time ago, an environmental sustainability club was launched by United Way Ghana in the school to raise awareness on waste management and recycling, and the provision of this water facility within the school will further improve the overall health indices within the school.
On assessing the state of sanitation and hygiene in St.George’s Anglican Basic School, I observed that the school has washrooms for girls, boys, and teachers on the north-western corner of the campus. Each student washroom holds 4 stalls each. None of these washrooms have access to running water, causing the school to spend almost 7000 cedis on water, cleaning supplies, and sanitary items per term. In fact, students often have to miss class and leave campus just to buy more water. This dilemma not only results in inconvenience for students, but also causes the washroom and the space around it to have a pungent smell. The state of their school washrooms are not only inconvenient, but unsafe and create a breeding ground for parasites and diseases such as cholera and typhoid.
The borehole which is being funded by PwC, and facilitated by United Way Ghana have, is being constructed in the southwestern corner of the campus with a platform being built to accompany it. This is the best suitable location as identified by the geophysicists who surveyed the school complex. The school can finally put the money being spent on water to maintain the washrooms instead, and students no longer need to worry about using the washrooms at school and no longer need to miss classes to buy water. It's safe to say everyone is excited to see the change this new water source will bring.The thought of not having to make outside trips or having a bad smell in their washrooms brings joy to the students. The management of the school is grateful for the fact they do not have to spend money on gallons of water, but can rather focus on maintenance from now on. The presence of this new borehole changes everything. After struggling with cleaning and preservation of the washrooms, the people of St.George's can finally access water for their daily sanitary needs.