Recently Community Action Ghana trustees were visiting a school compound with almost 850 students and 50 staff with no toilet facilities at all. We really felt we needed to help.

So following best practice we surveyed staff, students and parents. On many of the survey replies they said that a toilet block at the school would prevent   snake bites. This surprised us until we thought that without a toilet block the only place to go was in the fields surrounding the compound. This is where the snakes live. 

We then checked with the clinic and asked about incidents of snake bites.  In the previous two years there had been 62 reported bites 42 of which were fatal. So a toilet block on the compound will not only prevent diseases but will reduce the fear of being bitten by snakes.

What snakes?

In this area of the Oti region one finds these particularly venomous snakes as well as numerous others including pythons.

• West African carpet viper
• Black-necked spitting cobra
• Puff adder
• Forest cobra
• Western green mamba
• Rhino-horned viper
• Forest vine snake

Can you guess which are which? Would you like to encounter any of them as you are looking for a place to poo?

Thank to wikimedia commons

There has been an academic study about snake bites in the Oti region and a quote that shows the school desperatly needs to address the problem from it is “The male gender was mostly affected by snakebites, recording 59% of all reported cases. This observation aligns with other reports [8, 12, 13]. This finding indicates that snakebite is a significant public health problem affecting the productive and vulnerable segments of the population, especially those engaged in outdoor activities such as farming, hunting, and schooling. Therefore, prioritizing these vulnerable groups for snakebite prevention education may be essential in reducing overall case incidences.” (our bold)

If you would like to help please donate

We were approached by Samuel Botsyoe the Assemblyman for this area of over 500 households. They also have a vibrant health clinic that doesn’t have a clean water supply and has to tanker in water at great expense. He had heard of out work in Abunyanya.
The current water supply is from a river, that dries up regularly, a shallow well that also dries up and shallow hand pumped boreholes that provide a little salty water at the best of times.

The community filled in a needs assessment, and showed that all of the respondents, men, women and children walked long distances to collect water. The water was either dirty from the stream or, when available, salty from the hand pumps. This water could only really be used for washing. People were regularly affected by water borne diseases. They were prepared to help in the construction of the water tower. The community elders agreed not only to help but to cover ongoing costs of electricity and maintenance.

At the time this request was coming in a professional photographer, who is cycling friend of Adrian’s (Chair of trustees) said he was interested in doing a photographic project with a collegue on the work that Community Action Ghana is doing. Anthony Dawton’s and Jim McFarlane’s work can be seen on their website.

We agreed it would be wonderful but didn’t actually have the funds for the project. Anthony approached a friend who donated enough for the majority of the project costs and the airfares of Anthony and Jim (Jim is coming from Australia). The rest of the costs come from Community Action Ghana’s growing number of regular donators. Thanks to them for making it possible for us to facilitate this work.

A huge thank you must also go to Mrs Fazia Meyasser Alireza who has donated these funds. She is the CEO of Al Madad foundation a UK based charity doing amazing work for children caught up in the adult machinations in places such as Gaza, and Lebanon,

Could you or someone you know help contribute to this or other similar projects in the Volta region of Ghana. We are inundated with requests for libraries, water supplies and communal toilets. The only thing slowing us down is insufficient funds just click here to donate.

For ten days Adrian, Community Action Ghana Trustee, and his friend, Iraj, were escorted by our project manager Clemence to identify new project sites and evaluate projects that had been completed.

We also visited project sites that were in progress, one a toilet block in Mafi-Abude and a water project in Abunyanyana.

We were driven about 2,000 km and met with three new communities who want toilet blocks, four communities asking for libraries and a community who need help fixing their clean water supply.

Abunyanyana Community

One of the many highlights was visiting Abunyanyana community to the east of Kpassa. It is in the north of the old Volta Region, which has been subdivided and is now in the Oti region.

We had been asked by the Assemblymember (District Councillor) if we could drill a borehole in the village and supply and fit a pump. This was to provide clean, disease free water for washing and cooking within easy reach of the community.

We had agreed on condition that the community built the water tower for us to put the holding tank and plumb in the taps. Almost as soon as our email arrived the foundations for two towers in the east and west of the community were put in and the towers built.

We bought the 2Kw rotary pump when we were in Accra and took it with us to the village.

The drilling rig was drilling from early morning at a suitable site. They had done a geophysical survey using electrical resistivity to identify the best plot earlier. By the time we had driven four hours from our base in Alavanyo they had found water at 35m then continued to 70m to give a good reservoir. They had left for another site by the time we got there, so we didn’t get to see the rig in action though the photographs and videos showed a very professional if wet, noisy and very messy process.

Thank you so much to everyone who donates. This entire water system was funded through monthly donations & community fundraising – and will make a huge difference to around 500 households who now have clean water within easy walking distance of their homes every day!

What a day working with wonderful people. We went back to Kpassa for a very welcome shower and meal.
The next day went back to visit the possible site of another water project. Iraj kindly donated the funds to enable another community to access clean water, thank you!

We then went onto a huge school complex to assess a building they want to convert into a library. One of the difficulties is getting someone to supervise the library in the early morning and evenings. This innovative community want one of the rooms in the building to be converted in to a bedroom for a teacher to live in rent free in exchange for supervising the library.
If we can raise the funds we will renovate the kitchen area as well as an ablution block as part of the deal.

This is what it looks like now. Clemence is working on a budget to:
1. Repair and paint the walls and install dust proof windows
2. Put in ceilings, ceiling fans and lights
3. Build shelving and tables
4. Get chairs
5. Paint and repair the outside.
We are applying to Book Aid International to supply relevant books.

If you have been inspired by any of this work and are able to donate, your generosity can help complete these new projects, bringing dignity, health and education to hundreds of people.

Adrian, one of the trustees of Community Action Ghana, volunteered for the Stage 3 clinical trial of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in 2020. 

Adrian now gets regular invitations to take part in more research on vaccine trials. The most recent was for young and ancient (Adrian’s words, not theirs!) people to volunteer to see how the two different age groups’ lymph glands react to a Moderna Covid-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine. The research is being run by the Oxford Vaccine Group. 

Adrian is in the ancient group. Most visits just weigh, measure, use Ultrasound to check on the lymph glands, take blood pressure, temperature and five or six vials of blood to see how the antibodies are forming. 

Today’s visit was a bit more intrusive as they needed to sample the cells from the lymph glands in the armpits.  This meant that a very fine needled syringe was used to suck out the cells from the lymph glands. The researchers will then examine them microscopically. It’s called Fine Needle Aspiration. The visit to the hospital took about two hours 

What does this have to do with building toilets in Ghana? Well, the researchers pay for the time, travel, and inconvenience of being a guinea pig. In this case £880 for the eight visits. 

Adrian has the University pay this directly into Community Action Ghana’s bank account. So two good things happen, valuable research is done and funds go to community toilets, water systems or libraries.

Another advantage is Adrian tells the nurses, doctors and anyone who will listen why he is doing the research. Today found a volunteer to fundraise by running a marathon for us. Watch this space so you can sponsor her. 

Have you ever thought of being a medical research volunteer? Usually they want healthy people between 18 and 45 years old but sometimes they need older volunteers. Adrian being 76 years old is not a barrier. 

To find out more click on Oxford Vaccine Group (ovg.ox.ac.uk) or the NIHR be part of Research (www.bepartofresearch.nihr.ac.uk)

Note: Community Action Ghana is not endorsing any specific medical trials – all participants sign up at their own risk, we are just informing you of some of the more unusual ways to fundraise!

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One of our wonderful donors Professor Sir Muir Gray CBE MD has been talking to us about the work we are doing in the rural villages in Ghana and is so impressed that he wanted to share with us, and you, the following are his words.

“Amazing developments have taken place in healthcare in  the last fifty years, for example hip replacements and chemotherapy, but at least as , and probably even more even more, important than the provision of high value healthcare are two other determinants – clean, clear water and literacy, particularly the educational level of girls and women.
Community Action Ghana is unique in building libraries, water supplies and toilets.

The Internet of course is a wonderful source of knowledge but there is much that is wrong and misleading on the Internet so there is no guarantee that the knowledge is clean, and not biased, and clear, so people need to learn from childhood on how to find and appraise knowledge.

This is the role of education and within education the role of libraries.

By building Toilets, Water supplies and Libraries in the Volta Region Community Action Ghana is the perfect example of a health service which will help people live longer better.”

Professor Sir Muir Gray CBE MD
Director of the Optimal Ageing Programme at Oxford University UK

Below a selection of pictures showning what is all too often the facilities in rural areas. Community Action Ghana uses your donations to make a change.

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Because of the generosity of regular donors, and donations to our latest appeal, we have been able to release the latest donation of books, from Book Aid International, from Ghana’s customs. The funds raised also allowed us to transport them to Alavanyo.

Clemence, our project manager in Alavanyo, made all the arrangements for the books to be collected from Accra and transported to Alavanyo. They are pictured below; unpacked, sorted and stamped . All books are stamped with the Book Aid International stamp.

This could not have happened without your financial help. So a huge thank you.

In Dorfor Adidome we are going to refurbish a room in the primary school, that they have set aside as a community library.

We were recently complimented by an eminent public health professional, Professor Sir Muir Gray (Director of The Optimal Aging Program Oxford University), for our work in providing toilets and libraries. In his opinion the the two most important strategies for improving public health are clean water and education – and toilets are vital in keeping water courses clean. We are honoured and humbled by his appreciation of what we are doing.

The work goes on.

The trustees Adrian and Heather visited Ghana from 17th to 27th February to see how current projects were doing and to identify new projects. We set off From Heathrow with British Airways with 172 Kg of luggage! We go BA because its a non stop flight and as you can see, their luggage allowance is great. As we pay for our own flights it is the most cost effective and convienient way of travelling.

We were met at Kotoka International airport in Accra at 9pm by the third trustee Alyrene, who had travelled out a few days earlier, Clemence our project manager, and Christian a driver we had had before in his beautifully kept air conditioned minivan.

The next day we left for Alavanyo. We stopped for lunch at the Akosombo dam, where Heather and Adrian had set off on their adventure to Timbuctoo during the 1968 Easter holidays. They were teaching in Ghana having been recruited by VSO to work in schools in the Volta Region.

We spent the next six days based at Alavanyo Dzogbedze. We travelled by the less salubrious but very efficient Tuktuk driven by Amos.
First to Kpando to buy material from the market. We needed the material to give to various seamtresses to make bags to sell on Etsy, at craft fares, and for the fair trade shop in Hameln. This not only provides us with a source of income for our projects but gives work to the seamstresses and their apprentices.

To be continued…………………………………………………..

The carpenters at Dorfor Adidome have been hard at work. We are always amazed at the speed a roof goes on. A combination of hard work and skill.

The next stage is fitting out the interior and plumbing everything in. Usually we build KVIP toilets with the communities we work with. However, the community of Dorfor Adidome requested a WC system, initially we had reservations, but the central positioning of the toilet block in the village and the desire of the community to have one has meant we agreed. Our strapline is “The communities’ priorities are our priorities” and this is what the community requested we help with.

We are putting in drainage channels for after the effluent has been through a septic tank and aim to plant fruit trees alongside the channels to make use of the nutrients coming from the septic tank.

As with all of our projects, we will monitor the results closely and evaluate this toilet system before we commit to any other water based systems.

We have been in discussions about compost toilets and will be visiting a project next month that is converting the KVIP system into a compost system.

We’ll keep you updated on the progress and the evaluation and thank you to our generous donors and to the hard work and commitment of the Dorfor Adidome community.