Safe water borehole for Dapilagon, Wa West District

The seven-month dry season had left the community of Dapilagon in a perilous situation. The 253 residents were suffering from guinea worm, cholera and sometimes bilharzia — illnesses that left them unable to work their land and provide for their families. The worsening annual lack of safe water drove working-age youth to migrate to southern Ghana in search of work, leaving older community members and children to face extreme poverty and hunger.

With no reliable source, residents were left digging sump holes to sustain their need for water until the wet season returned. Rainwater harvesting did take place where possible, but the dependence on the contaminated river was a constant health issue — the community was spending an average of 80 hours a week collecting this unsafe water.

All this has now changed. Their new safe water borehole has made life so much better for the whole community, and residents are feeling strong and healthy once more.