ActionAid Ghana supports eight schools with GHS40,000 to improve WASH

A total of eight basic schools in the Tamale and Sagnarigu Assemblies in the Northern Region have received cheques for GHS5,000.00 each to help promote sustainable Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices.The beneficiary schools in the Tamale Metropolis included Kakpayili Taskif Primary School, Jonshegu Anglican Junior High School, Yong Dakpemyili Roman Catholic Junior High School, and Bamvim Presbyterian Primary School.The beneficiary schools in the Sagnarigu Municipality were Ngarun AME Zion Primary School, Kpene M/A Primary School, and Wayamba Roman Catholic Junior High School.The Northern Regional Programme Office of ActionAid Ghana, an international NGO, presented the cheques to the schools to complement their efforts to enhance access to WASH facilities.Mrs Esther Boateng, Northern Regional Programmes Manager, ActionAid Ghana, during the presentation in Tamale, said it was to support school-led initiatives towards improving WASH activities, especially among adolescent girls.She explained that ActionAid Ghana, in collaboration with the Northern Network for Education Development (NNED), conducted a survey to find out the severity of inadequate WASH facilities in the two Assemblies.She said the survey found that most schools and communities did not have WASH facilities and those who had these facilities were in a deplorable state.She said based on the findings, ActionAid Ghana engaged the schools and communities, shared the findings with them and got them to develop and agree on some action points that would help improve WASH in these areas.She said the rationale behind the involvement of the schools and communities was to ensure that beneficiaries owned the facilities and took interest in their maintenance.She said: 'In most of our interventions, we have realised that communities have a very poor maintenance culture, leading to the short lifespan of our facilities. We believe that with the beneficiaries now directly involved, they will help to take good care of them because they contrib uted to the development of the facilities.'Mr Gaskin Dassah, Coordinator, NNED, said the survey was carried out in 56 basic schools in the two Assemblies.He said the eight schools were selected based on their commitment to the action points, their ability to maintain the existing facilities, whilst strategising to acquire new ones.Mr Alhassan Alidu Junior, Sagnarigu Municipal Director of Education, expressed the need for partnerships to address infrastructural gaps in terms of WASH facilities at schools.He lauded the support and said it was timely, and would help address absenteeism among girls, especially during their menstrual periods.Mr Francis Faaseg, Headmaster, Wayamba Roman Catholic Junior High School, on behalf of the beneficiary schools, commended ActionAid Ghana for the support and expressed readiness to ensure that it was used for its intended purpose.Source: Ghana News Agency