Some Fellows of the West African Young Leaders Fellowship Program, organized by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), have constructed two boreholes for the Akim-Bosovilla community in the Ofoase-Ayirebi constituency in the Eastern Region.

As part of their training at the Fellowship, the fellows were tasked to embark on community projects in their respective countries, with the Ghanaian cohort selecting the Akim Bosovilla town for their project. Similar impactful projects are being executed around Anglophone West Africa, where these fellows have been chosen.

Three Fellows from Ghana, Sandra Emefa Dziwornu, Kweiki Abloso and Peter Dadzie, said they identified the need for additional water sources in the community.

Esther Ababio, a nurse at the community clinic, revealed that about ten cases of water-borne diseases were reported at the clinic each month.

The two newly constructed boreholes, the team believes, will well augment the already existing sources of water in the community of approximately 1,650 inhabitants and also significantly reduce the number of water-borne diseases recorded at the community's health facility. 

MP for the area, Hon. Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah partly funded the project together with the Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and some partner donors.

Chiefs and residents expressed gratitude to the fellows, the MP and all other donors for the gesture. They also assured them that they would put to good use the boreholes and ensure that it inures to their own benefit.

"I want to thank you for doing this for the community; we appreciate it very much. We are also grateful to CDD-Ghana, our MP and everyone, including you fellows, for making this happen. We are grateful." - Nana Keteku, Ankobeahene of Akyem Bosovilla.

The West African Young Leaders Fellowship Program is an initiative to help young individuals hone their leadership skills and beef up their leadership credentials through a series of training, coaching, and mentoring.

The first cohort from five Anglophone West African countries, Ghana, Nigeria, The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone, commenced training in June 2020 and have since been taken through numerous capacity-building activities.