JICA, philanthropist, provide water facilities for Tsledom

The Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) and an Australia-based missionary and philanthropist, Mercy Tettey on Thursday donated a polytank and commissioned a Ghc 17,000 borehole respectively for the people of Tsledom, a farming community and the Tsledom MA Basic School, both in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern region.

The water facilities are expected to provide clean sources of water to the residents and pupils.

The people depended on polluted sources of drinking water, a situation that led to the outbreak of suspected yaws in the community in July 2019.

The locals suspected the condition to be waterborne induced by heavily polluted surface water serving the community as the only source of drinking water.

Madam Tettey who said she was touched by the plight of the community and pupils when she heard the news in faraway Australia due to her identity as a Krobo indigene, felt obliged to come to the aid of the community.

"The sight of the pupils and the sores coupled with the unhygienic source of drinking water touched my heart and I realized they really needed help," she disclosed to newsmen.

She expressed appreciation to the deputy Eastern regional Minister, Samuel Nuettey Ayertey and NPP constituency chairman, Charles Kwesi Bokor for facilitating and assisting her efforts to assist the people.

Asked if she identified other needs of the community she would be addressing in the future, madam Mercy Tettey, an evangelist with the Assemblies of God church, Dansoman branch, said she had plans of providing an additional borehole for the Tsledom MA basic School as well as provide financial assistance to the school to provide a befitting accommodation facility for its teachers to address the accommodation challenges of the school which has forced the teachers to convert the school library into a bedroom and kitchen.

The missionary on the day also refreshed the school kids with biscuits and soft drinks.

A JICA volunteer who donated the polytank to the Tsledom MA basic School, Yukie Immiya said the agency was touched by the plight of the school and hence the decision to donate the polytank to alleviate the plight of the pupils and the school.

The outbreak, largely blamed on the unwholesome water source, left community members, particularly, children infected with strange sores.

Head teacher of the Tsledom MA basic School, David Kofi Teye who received the polytank on behalf of the school expressed his profound gratitude to JICA and madam Mercy Tettey for the gesture.

Explaining how the polytank will benefit the school in the absence of pipeborn water, the school head said rain water will be harvested directly from the roofs of the school building and connected to the tank for use by pupils and teachers.

Assembly Man for Ayemersu electoral area, Emmanuel Kwao also thanked the donors for their generosity and said this will go a long way to avert future outbreaks of diseases which plagued the community.

Dadematse of Tsledom, Dadematse Atter who regretted the effects of depending on polluted water by the community, described the provision of the borehole as a timely intervention.

He however appealed for more sources of drinking water for the people as well as fixing the bad roads leading to the community which is affecting social and commercial activities.

Contractors of the borehole will provide free maintenance services for the facility for the next five years.

The team was accompanied by New Patriotic Party chairman for Lower Manya Krobo, Charles Kwesi Bokor, NPP organizer for Lower Manya Krobo, Michael Mensah together with other party executives, the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator at the Education Directorate at Lower Manya Krobo and former Deputy Director of finance and administration at the education directorate, Mrs Agnes Akweley Attipoe.