Residents at Asamase in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese District can now have a sigh of relief as their headache of drinking water from the stream they share with animals are over.

Guninea worm became a common disease in the area and school children had to drop out of school as result.

An NGO based in the UK has provided a hand pump to provide drinking water for the community, with a population estimated to be around 10,000.

Years ago, Guinea worm became a very common disease in the Asamase community. The community’s only source of water was the stream they pass through to and from their farm.

About three years ago, the community’s only hope became a mechanized borehole that served the community members.

The pressure on the facility alone led to frequent breakdowns, fisticuffs among residents and lateness of school children to school.

A resident, Joseph Quainoo shares what the community has been going through.

“We are excited. At first, where we used to go and fetch our water was very far. The stream we were fetching from was unwholesome because that’s the same stream we walk through to go to our farm. The result was Guinea worm infestation. As I stand here, I am even weak,” he said.

Another resident, John Ntsiful, expressed his delight at the hand pump that has been installed. He says, if for nothing at all, Guinea worm infestations in the area would reduce to the barest minimum.

“We were really in terrible times. You couldn’t believe the kind of water we were drinking.

We cried for intervention and they brought us some water. That was even too burdensome because it was expensive and spoils intermittently. We weren’t able to repair it when it got spoilt because it was too expensive,” he stated.

Country of Representative of Trinity HealthCare Plus, George Ebo Brown reveals how important the water system that has been installed means to the community.

He explains, the farming community had had to grapple with access to potable water and the situation had culminated into many of the community folk spending so much money on treating Guinea worm infections.

“From the statistics, most cases that are recorded here are waterborne diseases and it was realized that they fetch from the streams around.

"It’s a farming community and so when they get to the farm, they fetch the stream and drink and that was the beginning of the challenges here,” he stated.

He stated: “when they drink the water, they fall ill, and the kids can’t go to school. The elderly are also unable to go to their farms and various work places. The main challenge here was accessing potable water and Trinity Healthcare Plus, decided to give them the support.”

The Chief of the community expressed his appreciative to the NGO for the gesture.

Trinity Healthcare plus Company is based in the UK and deals with the elderly in the community in the UK as well people with disease like dementia.

It’s been in operation for the past six years in the UK and they decided to set up a fund to give back to society. Asamase happens to the first beneficiary of the fund.