Day 9 (August 3)

Today we arranged with Pok to take us to a couple of the different water sources in the area so that we can have a better idea of the drinking water sources available for the Yua community. We traveled a different route this day, stopping at a local, small-scale eco-tourist attraction in Sirigu. The Sirigu Woman’s Organization for Pottery and Arts, or SWOPA, is a beautifully painted structure containing a gallery of traditional arts and pottery. It also serves as a guesthouse providing, affordable rooms decorated in the traditional style reflected throughout the SWOPA grounds. While here, we toured the gallery and rooms discussing the possibility of future accommodations for EWB project volunteers.

We agreed to return to SWOPA for lunch and hopped back into Pok’s truck and continued on to Yua. Our first stop was at the Taribisi section of Yua. Here we visited two shallow wells used for drinking water during the wet season. At the second well, a man from Yua showed us how they get the water. He pulled out a very old can that had once contained an industrial adhesive, dropped it into the well using an old, frayed rope, pulled up a can full of murky water, and bent to drink from the can. These wells, we were told dry up completely during the dry season.

The next water source we visited was a small earthen dam at the edge of the Taribisi. Used as a reservoir to water animals, we also observed people washing their clothes and children swimming in the reservoir. Although the small reservoir held what seemed to be a sufficient amount of water, we were told that it dries to be a mud puddle by December during the year and there is not sufficient water for the remainder of the dry season.

Our last stop along the tour of available water sources was at a borehole, located a kilometer away from the dam. The water here appears to be very clean. The hand pump provides a fairly strong stream of water. This source is used somewhat during the wet season, but is one of very few sources during the dry season. (The man shown in the photo lives nearby and is blind. We had the chance to meet and talk with him while we were there. Northern Ghana has some of the highest incidences of visual impairment in Africa-estimated at 14% , around 21,000 people. The foremost cause of the epidemic is a direct result of Trachoma. Caused by bacteria, Trachoma spreads rapidly in communities where people don't have enough water to wash their hands and face regularly and can be prevented by simply washing with as little as one litre of clean water each day.)

We then traveled back to the SWOPA complex for lunch, which was more expensive than food in Bolga, but fairly cheap by US standards (about $2.75 for lunch and a Coke). Then it was back to Yua to meet with the farmers’ and women’s groups. There we again heard that water is very scarce during the dry season, and that the community has already begun prioritizing sites for boreholes, and has a potential site or 2 determined for a future dam. Priorities for boreholes are the health clinic and market.

We left a bit earlier for Bolga than usual so we could clean up a bit (it can get very dusty riding the dirt roads in Pok’s truck every day) and go once again to Pok’s house for another wonderful dinner. We left a bit early so the Pok and his wife, Peace, could attend a wake. It seems like there are many funerals here, mainly on Saturdays. I guess this illustrates the problems facing this region, high mortality due to malaria, poor sanitation, and malnutrition, all compounded by the high level of poverty.

--Jaina and Ben