SAWABA KINTAMPO, GhANA

FUNDED JUNE 21, 2023

Sawaba Kintampo is a town in Kintampo, Ghana. About 700 people live there, and the proposed well will be able to handle 1,000 a day, so the town’s growth will be encouraged by this new water system.

This will be a very complex project,  encompassing a deep borehole well with an electric pump, water distribution to one more more storage tanks, a water filtration and treatment system, and hygiene training.

People will collect water to care for their animals sometimes, but they will mostly use the water closer to their homes, which
could be from a hand-dug well or surface water for the animals.

The population in the area is growing fast and competition for water has become a daily struggle. While there is a municipal water system in the area, the demand is too high, and the water doesn’t reach the outside growing community. The water doesn’t flow each day and when it does, there are long lines of people. The water stops before all can gather water. Fights are always an issue as tensions are high with desperation. Residents currently rely on hand-dug wells or local streams, which often run dry when they cannot gather water at the municipal location. Community members must go on long treks to find enough water for their needs, sometimes crossing dangerous roads, putting their lives at risk. The current water supply is not sufficient, safe, or sustainable. Water illnesses such as cholera, typhoid, diarrhea, and skin rashes are present. Parasites are common in both adults and children. People are needing to pay for medical care in a vicious cycle due to poor water quality.

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 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: $20,000

Funding Requested from Ingomar Living Waters: $8,000

Costs Breakdown:

• Materials:Well materials: electric submersible pump, cement, drilling fluid, piping, gravel, sand, 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: Will be 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 program, administration, and oversight.
• Funding for Other Costs:  A donor is willing to provide the remaining expenses if LWI finds someone to invest in the project first.  Grants toward gospel proclamation will be applied to complete this work for the community.

Project Timeline:

• Date Funds Required:  June 30, 2023
• Estimated Project Start Date: July 23, 2023
• Estimated Completion Date: August 23, 2023

WELL MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

Living Water International will provide training and backstopping support during the first six years, until the local water committee and community have gathered 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-caregivers will be assigned and equipped to do the ongoing general care of the project.

The Water Committee

DISCIPLESHIP

Living Water employs a pastor within each country’s staff. Their purpose is to engage with the local churches/pastors/church members, speaking into 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. [There are other] pastoral trainings or pastoral fellowship activities to unite Christians throughout the WPA in sharing the gospel and uplifting believers.

Hygiene Training at the School​

COMPLETED SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

The Kintampo, Ghana community often endured weeks without water. Despite being connected to the municipal water system, the flow of water from the municipal taps was highly irregular. When water did flow, it was visibly dirty, brown, and filled with sediment. The residents suspected that this unreliable source was dangerous to consume. As a result, the community tried to create their own solution by digging a well by hand. However, despite their best efforts, the well only provided water for four months out of the year. This was insufficient to meet their most basic needs.

The scarcity of water impacted every part of community life. However, it was an especially dire situation for the local school. Not only were students so thirsty that they could not focus on their classes, but it also created dangerous situations for them physically. When the hand-dug well dried up, the school children would cross busy streets to find alternative water sources.

Construction is underway!

A local pastor, Isaac Attach Lawrence, took it upon himself to gather water for the children after witnessing a particularly frightening incident. He said, “One student was almost knocked down by an oncoming vehicle while he was crossing the street to find water. Though the student was saved, the shocked look on his face and the fear in his eyes impacted me in an enormous way. Merely trying to access drinking water almost cost the life of a bright child. After that, I abandoned my other ministry work and employment to travel long distances to supply the school with water anytime the well dried up and the municipal water was not flowing, which was almost all the time. This often affected my ministry adversely as I had to postpone meetings and other work to supply water to the school.”

The harrowing experience prompted the pastor and other community leaders to keep looking for solutions to the Kintampo water crisis. They learned about the work that Living Water was doing in their region. At the community’s request, Living Water International drilled a new well in the community, installing a submersible pump that provides safe water to a water tank and tap stands. All of this was possible because of your generosity! The Living Water staff also helped the community establish sustainability practices to ensure a future of safe water access. They guided the residents in the selection of a water committee, which will oversee the care and maintenance of the well and collect a small fee to cover the cost of future repairs. Living Water will stay in contact with the water committee to support sustainability efforts and monitor the well’s functionality.

SANITATION & HYGIENE TRAINING

The Living Water staff also helped the community members understand how they could use the safe water you provided to improve their health. Community members attended a sanitation and hygiene training conducted by Living Water Ghana. The residents learned about the importance of handwashing and maintaining proper oral hygiene for their overall health. The Living Water staff shared information on disease transmission prevention, menstrual hygiene, and how to keep water safe after it has left the source.

Residents also encountered the living water of Christ through your generosity. Living Water Ghana presented the gospel to the community at an evangelism service that was held at the local school and distributed gospel literature. The staff used John 4:13-14 (NIV) to underline the good news of the gospel during an evangelistic service: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Pastor Lawrence was optimistic about the future of his community. “We expect this new well to provide sufficient and safe water for the students and teachers of our local school, for our church, and for the residents of our community. We expect that this well will end our suffering when it comes to water.”

YOUR IMPACT

Ingomar Living Waters, your support not only changed lives by providing safe water but also by helping community members safeguard their future and restore their present hopes. Every drop of safe water from the well in the Kintampo community carries the aspirations of a student, the relief of a teacher, the prayers of a church member, and the gratitude of an entire community. Through generous donors like you, Living Water International can undertake water well projects throughout Ghana and other countries, that stand as a testament to the never ending love of God for the world. Thank you so much for your generous donation. And thank you for giving water, for life, in Jesus’ name!

Students attend WASH activity teaching
sanitation and hygiene practices.