Chief of Pelungu Traditional Area in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, Naab Serig Sore Sobil IV has appealed to philanthropic organizations, religious organizations, Non-governmental Organizations(NGOs) and all well-meaning Ghanaians to assist him financially to propel the development of the town.
He made this plea during the 4th edition of the annual ‘Yagle Kuure’ festival at Pelungu on the theme “Community Unity and Cooperation for Development”.
According to him, this year’s celebration was also to serve as a platform for seeking financial support toward the completion of a 20-seater toilet facility for the Pelungu market square.
He said the construction of the facility was driven by his vision to bring an end to open defecation which has succeeded in injuring the good image of the community.
Naab Sobil IV opined that the project, which is situated at the new market will help solve the exposure women often face while attending nature’s call.
“When we celebrated the very first annual Yagle Kuure Festival in 2018, we decided to use the occasion to try and raise funds to start the construction of a 20-seater public toilet facility for the Pelungu market. This was because when I became the chief of this community, the sanitation situation here in Pelungu became a deep source of worry for me. I realized that poor sanitation especially in our market did not present a good image of our community to strangers. Also, our women were exposed anytime they needed to attend to nature’s call, while they were doing their business activities in our market,” he stated.
Naab Sobil IV bemoaned that the revenue generated from the first ‘Yagle Kuure’ festival in 2018 was not sufficient for the construction of the facility but quickly added that the commitment of the people towards the cause was commendable.
He went on to call on the people of the area to continue to be united as that is the only way they can finish the toilet project and many others that will follow in the future.
He also used the occasion to profoundly express gratitude to the Upper East Regional Manager for the Ghana Red Cross Society for drilling a mechanized borehole to augment their efforts of ending open defecation. He said the borehole will not only play a key role in ending open defecation but will also provide water for the people of that part of Pelungu.
Naab Sobil IV expressed appreciation to the Member of Parliament for Nabdam Constituency, Dr. Mark Kurt Nawaane for his tremendous support for the community, particularly this project. He said he was full of conviction that the MP would be able to find a way of helping him and his people to complete the project.
He commended the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Nabdam, madam Agnes Anamoo for her frantic efforts to ensure the construction of a 12-seater toilet facility for the old market.
He was again thankful to the former Member of Parliament for Nabdam Constituency and now Ghana’s Ambassador to Togo, His Excellency Boniface A. Gambila as well as NPP’s Upper East Regional Chairman, Lawyer Anthony Namoo for always making themselves available when called upon.
Meanwhile, some of the market women who spoke to the media relative to the new facility could not hide their excitement since that will save them from the hassle they go through in their bid to attend nature’s call.
Madam Modesta, a popular food vendor in the market said “we normally suffer; we go far away from the market and it’s not good for us. We leave our things here and come back and they will not be there. We need a toilet inside our surroundings so that in case of anything we can go there. So, when the toilet is there it’s good for us. Completion of the facility will help mostly we the women because it’s not good for married women like us to stand anyhow and urinate or defecate. So if the toilet is completed, it will help us the women including the men themselves. So it will help us a lot and we are praying that it is completed as soon as possible.”
Madam Pogyang Tibire, a trader in the market also said “ as for the toilet, it has become a big problem for us here. There is no toilet facility in the whole Pelungu community. We the women, our children ad well as men resort to defecating on people’s farms due to lack of the facility. So since our father, Naab Sobil IV does this for us, we are very happy. If there is a toilet facility in this market, it will give the Pelungu community a good image to strangers. I think that is the most important thing for him to do and we are very happy with that.”
‘Yagle Kuure’ festival is celebrated on yearly basis to mark the end of the farming season, a time to be thankful to God for the harvest and reflect on the just ending year. It was first celebrated in 2018, two years after the enskinment of Naab Sore Sobil IV as Chief of the community. The sentence ‘Yagle Kuure’, literally means to ‘ hang a hoe’ and this connotes having a rest after a successful end to the farming season.
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