The struggles of residents, particularly women in Abuorso, a farming Community in the Fanteakwa North district of the Eastern region in search of potable water have come to an end.

Residents claim that before this, pregnant women developed complications after drinking from a river polluted with weedicide residue by farmers in the area.

The residents, who also walked long distances to share contaminated water with animals, can now heave some sigh of relief following the provision of a mechanized water system by World Vision International, a non-governmental organization.

Abuorso is a community which is about 21 kilometers from the Fanteakwa North district capital, Begoro.

The adult residents are predominantly peasant farmers whilst the children, form the school going population.

Apart from the poor state of their road network, residents say one major challenge confronting them is access to potable water.

According to them, they would have to compete with animals for the only source of water, a river situated kilometres away from the community.

"This Abuorso community, we have a place called Amanforoso in which we fetch our water and drink and bath to schools and others. When there's harmathan, the river dries up and the little left animals will also come and drink from the same river with us".

"The farmers too when they spray with the weedicides and it rains, because their farms are close to the river, some of the weedicides get into the river and it's dangerous because we get complications, especially the pregnant women". Samuel Narh, an opinion leader lamented

Now, there is hope for students, healthcare providers and the community as a whole.

Through its vision fund, World Vision Ghana has commissioned a lifeline of reliable water for the people.

To make the facility more accessible, about five (5) standpipes have been extended to various points in the community including the health centre and the basic school.

Speaking on the sidelines of a ceremony to commission the facility, the Board Chairman of World Vision Ghana, Baafuor Otu-Boateng said the gesture is to alleviate the community's water crisis.

"We know you are all happy about the project and that means you are going to embrace it and maintain it to the benefit of your community. Let me state that we built it to alleviate this community of water crisis because we know school children will need water, the health centre will depend on it and everybody in this community will in one way or the other depend on this facility". He noted

On his part, the Director of Vision Fund, Jonas Sowah Quaye explained how the sinking of the water system was made possible with the support of their Korean development partners.

"To sink a borehole ordinary would have been what we would have done but because of the rocky nature of the area, the flow of the water itself will be an impediment for the people so we decided that it should be mechanized".

"Now to go through the process means a lot of money, we sought the help of our development partners in Korea to support us raise the necessary funds to meet it". He explained