Sing for Water Update from WaterAid

Last year choirs and singers raised an amazing total of 139,000 to support WaterAid projects in Ghana and Malawi. This was the most successful year ever for Sing for Water with events of all shapes and sizes taking place and thousands of singers working hard to collect sponsorship raise awareness of WaterAids work. Since the very first Sing for Water at the Mayors Thames Festival in London in 2001 almost 700,000 has been raised to fund clean water, sanitation and hygiene education projects. Together you have helped us transform the lives of some of the worlds poorest people. Thank you! Update from the Krachi East project written by Afia S. Zakiya, our Country Representative for Ghana The Krachi East District, with capital at Dambai, is located in the northern part of the Volta Region. It has about 207 settlements and the main occupation of the people is farming, dominated with cash crop plantations and fishing. In Krachi East, like most rural districts in Ghana, most people lack access to safe water hygiene and sanitation services. Water borne related diseases are therefore on the rise in communities where people have no access to safe water and sanitation services. In 2011/12 finanacial year, WaterAid in Ghana received funds from Sing for Water and applied this to support the implementation of an integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project (WASH) in the Krachi East District of Ghana. The project is aimed at improving the health and quality of life for poor and vulnerable people, including persons with disabilities, in 4 communities in the district. This project is being delivered by one of WaterAids long-term partners - the Afram Plains Development Organisation (APDO) and other key stakeholders such as the Krachi East District Assembly and members of the communities.

Highlights of progress in 2011/12 Installation of two boreholes fitted with Afridev hand pumps Construction of four Girl/Boy-friendly institutional latrines in two schools School children, especially the girls now feel safe and comfortable in using the new toilet as compared to the old type, thus increasing school enrolment Hygiene promotion, focusing on behavior change communications and particularly hand washing with soap at critical times and environmental cleanliness was delivered in 4 communities and schools. The capacities of four WATSAN committees have been built to manage the new facilities and promote sustainability In particular, women took up leadership roles in all four communities and are now actively participating in decision-making processes. Women are saving time from long hours spent in search of safe water and they use time to engage in income generating activities such as brewing local drinks like pito- made from corn; processing gari from cassava to improve their livelihood Communities have now been relieved the stress of travelling long distances to fetch water from ponds and streams.

Drilling Boreholes The water supply project consists of a limited small water system and two boreholes which are fitted with hand pumps. Opposite is a picture of a Borehole Drilling at Kpariba. They are now providing sustainable access to safe water to 2,357 rural poor people, comprising 716 men, 664 women, 992 children and three persons with disability in the Krachi East district. All the facilities have been constructed with access ramps to aid physically challenged persons gain access the facilities The community members also said that women and children do not spend as much time searching for water as they previously did. Thus, they have enough time to carry out their normal daily activities. This, it is anticipated would lead to the reduction of poverty in their communities. They have also stated that water borne diseases such as bilharzias, guinea worm and skin rashes have become a thing of the past. School attendance has also improved tremendously, since school children get to school early because of the time saved in travelling long distances for water. Below is a picture of a completed limited small water system at Addo Nkwanta

Building toilets Dambai T.I Ahmadiyya primary and Asukawkaw RC Junior High School benefitted from Institutional latrines this year. Four 2-seater latrines have been completed and handed over to the schools. The facilities completed are serving a total population of 715 pupils made up of 363 females and 352 males The construction of girl-friendly latrines has also benefited the schools tremendously, especially since girls now have changing rooms for use during their menstrual periods. Photos of some of the new latrine blocks below

School hygiene lessons School hygiene promotion using the child - to - child approach was initiated during the year for two schools, Dambai TI Ahmadiyya Primary school and Addo Nkwanta Primary School. School hygiene promotion sessions were held reaching a student population of 715 comprising of 352 boys and 363 girls. Health clubs were also formed in these two schools to help promote water and sanitation activities (see picture below) The promotion sessions involved encouraging children to get involved in discussing issues concerning open defecation, hand washing with soap at critical times, personal hygiene, environmental hygiene and the proper use of the latrines to be provided to them. Pupils within the same neighborhood came out with their own action plans to guide their campaigns in their homes and localities. The follow up visits during the period revealed that most of the actions plans had been carried up. Community members and school children have adopted improved hygiene practices and Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) communities are making progress towards the villages becoming open- defecation free (ODF).

A woman at Monkrate, one of the communities receiving hygiene education said The education we have received so far has helped me and my family a lot. In the past hand washing with soap was not taken seriously and we always got stomach pains. Now, when we took it seriously after attending various information sessions, and continued to practice it well, we do not experience stomach trouble and other sicknesses again

Thank you for helping transform lives in Ghana and Malawi