After years of grappling with water scarcity and the arduous journey to access safe drinking water, residents of the Sumbrungu Atampuure community in the Bolgatanga Municipality can now heave a sigh of relief following the commissioning of a handpump borehole in the community. Ayeya, a company that is into the purchase of locally made baskets and shea butter production, has drilled and commissioned a borehole in the community, bringing an end to the long-standing challenges faced by residents in securing clean and accessible water.
A community leader, Ayantoya Paul Ayutoliya, said the struggle for potable drinking water became a daily ordeal, particularly for women and children, who bore the brunt of the water crisis.
“Our women had to trek several kilometers for water, and sometimes they had to compete with animals for water. The available borehole then is a dilapidated old circular borehole, and the water level has been reduced. So, we had to spend long periods before we could get water to fetch.”
Mr. Ayamtoya, however, said the provision of the handpump borehole will provide the residents with a sustainable and reliable source of clean water.
“The commissioning of this borehole will reduce the number of kilometers our parents and ourselves will trek to look for water. Our animals, too, will not die due to thirst. It will help reduce the number of typhoid cases we record due to the unsafe water we were drinking”, he stated.
Madam Rose Akuribire, leader of the Sumasum Mampa`ese Basket Weavers Association, who thanked the Ayeya company for the provision of the borehole, recalled that the long distance that children had to trek for water daily was affecting their wards’ education as many were reporting to school late.
The Sumbrungu Atampuure community is one of the many communities in the Upper East region that supplies baskets to the Ayeya company. The Chief Executive of Ayeya company, Olowo-n’djo Tchala, said the commissioning of the borehole demonstrates the company’s commitment to addressing community needs and contributing to the well-being of the areas it operates in.
“Our organization, Ayeya’s goal of existence is to support the communities. It is true that we are based in Togo and the US but Ghana is part of our community. When you take something from a community, you have to put something back into that community. And we buy baskets from the women in this community and sell those baskets in the US. It only makes sense that some of the money from selling those baskets should come back to those communities, and that is what we call moral,” Mr. Olowo-n’djo stated.
While urging companies to respect the communities in that they operate by fulfilling their corporate mandate, the CEO of Ayeya said the provision of water for the community hopes to “set a good example for the next generation.”
In response to a plea for the construction of a health facility in the community, Mr. Olowo-n’djo promised to see to the needs of the community members going forward. In the Upper East region, Ayeya currently buys baskets from about 100 communities with over 5000 women weavers. Aside from the Sumbrumgu community, over the years, the company has drilled and commissioned boreholes in communities such as Sherigu, Yariga, and Zorkor.
Aaron Aberise, Prince of Sumbrungu Chief, thanked the CEO of Ayeya Company for the borehole constructed and promised on behalf of the community members that beneficiaries will properly maintain it to ensure it last longer.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.Mhz|Joshua Asaah|Sumbrungu|Ghana
