A farming community in the Agona West Municipality of the Central Region, Agona Nkum, has received a GH¢150,000 mechanised borehole to ease their perennial water challenges.
The facility, provided by aYo Intermediaries Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of MTN Ghana and the country’s leading micro-insurance provider is installed with a storage tank, is expected to improve access to potable water while reducing the outbreak of water-borne diseases in the community.
The gesture follows the February cholera outbreak in the Central Region, which claimed lives at Agona Nkum and surrounding communities.
A needs assessment by aYo revealed that residents relied on an irregular water supply system, while their only alternative
source, a stream, was polluted with faecal matter and other contaminants from a nearby refuse dump.
To address the situation, aYo contracted vendors from Accra to construct the mechanised borehole to provide safe drinking water for the people.
Inaugurating the facility at weekend, the Chief Executive Officer of aYo Ghana, Mr Francis Gota, stated that the project formed part of the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) interventions in health, education and technology.
He explained that the borehole was specifically targeted at preventing water-borne diseases and easing the burden on women and children who travel long distances in search of water.
“We urge you to see this facility as your own, maintain it, protect it and ensure it serves both the current and future generations,” Mr Gota empasised.
Touching on aYo’s operations, he disclosed that the company currently insures over 8.5 million lives in Ghana under its life and hospitalisation packages, and had paid more than GH¢36 million in claims over the past seven years.
According to him, the company remained committed to ensuring that insurance was accessible, affordable and beneficial to all, particularly the vulnerable.
The aYo team later paid a courtesy call on the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Agona West, Mr Eric Gyamfi Odoom, who commended the company for its timely intervention.
Mr Odoom mentioned that the entire municipality was grappling with a water crisis, worsened by illegal mining (galamsey) which had polluted streams that once served as alternative water sources.
He appealed to religious leaders, the media and civil society to intensify the campaign against galamsey to protect lives and livelihoods.
The Omankrado of Agona Nkum, Nana Mprah Afful, expressed gratitude to aYo for the borehole, describing it as a significant relief. He, however, appealed for two additional boreholes and a community library to further support development in the area.
FROM KINGSLEY ASARE, AGONA NKUM
