KRONUM KWAPRA, GHANA

FUNDED JUNE 14, 2023

Kronum Kwapra is a small town in the Ashanti region of Ghana.  There are 700 people within 30 minutes walking distance of its water source, and the proposed complex water system will be able to serve up to 1,500 people, encouraging growth in this area.

Here is the photo of the Ghana project. It is a piped water stand but the water flowing through it is very limited and is contaminated. The government put money into the tap stand but not into the flow of the water. And this is located a great distance from the area where this new well will be placed in a very large community. It’s like a suburb of a large city.

EXISTING CONDITIONS

The water situation of Kronum Kwapra is one that can best be described as challenging. The whole community is connected to the same Municipal water system. However, the number of people using this system far [outweighs] the capacity of the system, and there are no other clean water sources for this town.

Because of this, they are faced with serious water rationing. The community, church, and schools can go weeks without water running through the water taps. Without this water, the community must collect water from hand-dug wells that contain contaminated water or are forced to purchase water from tanker drivers who charge high prices and supply poor quality or contaminated water. The use of this water causes students to be sick, which leads to absenteeism and missing classes for students. Young children suffer the worst as they have no resistance to fight off waterborne illnesses.

 Hygiene and Community Development Meeting

 LIVING WATERS INTERNATIONAL’S PROGRAM

Our program implementation through WASH Program Areas is unique in that it aims to bring lasting physical and spiritual development in communities through a multi-year program [that is] focused on specific regions, thoughtfully integrating and contextualizing principles of water access, sanitation, hygiene, church mobilization, gospel proclamation, and sustainability.

SPECIFIC COSTS AND FUNDING INFORMATION

Total Project Cost: $25,000

Funding Requested from Ingomar Living Waters: $15,000. This will include materials, labor, and a very small portion of the overall WPA program costs that includes health education, sustainability training, and discipleship programs.

Project Timeline:

• Date Funds Required: By June 2023
• Estimated Project Start Date: Summer 2023
• Estimated Completion Date: End of Summer

Costs Breakdown:

• Materials: Well materials: electric pump, cement, drilling fluid, piping, gravel, sand, and fuel, tank stand and tank, and tap stands
• Labor: Labor for drilling and installing the water system. LWI Staff are paid appropriate salary rates which include the country’s requirement of a 13th month salary, and health INS benefits.
• Administrative Costs: Paid for by other donations
• Future Maintenance: Paid for by other donations over the first two years, and [by] the community through usage fees collected by the community moving forward.
• Other Costs: The remaining other costs include health and sanitation education/training, ongoing sustainability efforts, evangelistic and discipleship programs, and administration/oversight.
• Funding for Other Costs: Where-most-needed gifts and grants towards gospel proclamation will be applied to complete this work for the community.

WELL MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

Living Water International will provide training and backstopping support during the first 6 years until the local water committee and community have gather[ed] enough fees to build a reserve for funding future maintenance. Water users will pay small monthly water user fees by household, and these funds will be collected and managed by the water user committee for future repairs and maintenance of the system. The well-caregiver will be assigned and equipped to do the ongoing general care of the project.

DISCIPLESHIP

Living Water employs a pastor within each country’s staff. Their purpose is to engage with the local churches/pastors/church members, speaking about unity, spiritual growth, and how to be health advocates within their communities. Bible storying training is coordinated within the WPA at several locations and outreach evangelism events such as the Jesus film, family activities with spiritual influence, or rallies to name a few. Bibles are given out to new believers or believers who do not have access to a bible in their own language. Other pastoral trainings or pastoral fellowship activities to unit Christians throughout the WPA in sharing the gospel and uplifting believers.

The Pastor with Some of the Villagers

FUTURE IMPACT

The community will no longer have to ration water or pay for contaminated water from tankers. They will have access to sustainable, safe water just outside their homes and will be able to use funds previously spent on water and medicine for waterborne diseases for food, savings, and other needs. Disease rates will drop dramatically, and children will be able to focus on school.

COMPLETED SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

The 700 residents of the Kronum Kwapra community were facing acute water shortages. While the community was
connected to a municipal water grid, the water supply was irregular. Sometimes weeks would go by without any water. This affected
not only the community at large but also the local church and school. Desperate for water, the community members were forced to purchase it from vendors who charged high prices and sometimes cheated them out of their money.

To make matters worse, there was no way to determine the safety of the water. As a result, waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery were common. Time spent recovering from such illnesses meant time away from the resident’s jobs, trapping them in a cycle of poverty. They were unable to care for their families if they were sick. The children couldn’t attend school, putting their futures in jeopardy. Rev. Daniel Kwasi Afrifah is the pastor of Kronum Presbyterian Church of Ghana. The lack of water put a lot of stress on him.

Rev. Afrifah said, “As a pastor of the church and one of the school leaders, any time the water did not flow, I was the first person they called. This put pressure on me, and I had to do everything to make sure students, teachers, and the congregation got water. Sometimes, I had to wake up early to chase tanker drivers to supply water to the schools. A few times these drivers collected our money and then failed to supply the water. And sometimes I was forced to refund these monies to the schools from my own pocket.”

Living Water installs parts of the new water system.

When Rev. Afrifah and other leaders in the community heard about Living Water International’s work in the area, they knew they had found the answer to their water crisis. Living Water Ghana responded to the community’s need by coming to drill a new well at the church. Ingomar Living Waters, your gift made this possible!

The staff returned with a drilling rig, drilling 70 meters until they accessed a safe water aquifer. The team installed a PVC pipe, gravel pack, and sanitary seal. They treated the well with a shock chlorination and tested the water. It proved to be safe for drinking; the team then installed an electric submersible pump, laid piping, and installed a water tank, and new tap stands.

The Living Water staff also helped the Kronum Kwapra community establish sustainability practices to help ensure a future of safe water access, guiding them in the creation of a water committee to oversee the care and maintenance of the well. Living Water will stay in contact with the community to support sustainability efforts and monitor the well’s functionality. The committee will collect a small fee per household for water usage, which will be used for future repairs and maintenance.

Students show off their new Bibles.

In order to help the Kronum Kwapra community members understand how to use the safe water you gave them as a means of improving their health, the Living Water staff held a hygiene and sanitation promotion activity at the school. Students and teachers learned hygiene techniques, including proper handwashing, and how to prevent the spread of germs and diseases.

The Living Water staff wanted to ensure that the Kronum Kwapra community experienced the great love of God and the message of the gospel. To this end, the team held a school outreach session where 355 students and other community members heard the good news of the gospel. The staff also distributed 156 Bibles to the students to help them grow in their faith.

Rev. Afrifah explained how the new water system will impact his community. “We expect this new well to supply safe, reliable water for both the church and school. We will now have control over when we will have water, and we can be sure of the quality.”

Safe water changes everything!

Your Impact

Ingomar Living Waters, thanks to you, the Kronum Kwapra residents now have safe water in abundance. They no longer have to wonder if they will have enough water for each day or suffer the effects of drinking unsafe water. Student can attend school, making their educations and futures a priority. The church can better serve its congregation. Your gift has provided the entire community with the means to escape reaction-based patterns of living. Sustaining their new water system has instilled hope and confidence in the community members. Your gift also serves as a reminder of God’s great love for each person in the community, evidence that “He will guide them to springs of living water” (Rev. 7:17, NIV).