In Amenamu, a small farming community tucked away in the sun-scorched plains of Ejura Sekyeredumase, the ground is more than just dry—it’s defiant.

For years, families here have clawed at the cracked earth with shovels, hoes, and sometimes bare hands, digging trenches into the streambeds they once relied on, praying for a miracle. Every drop of water that slowly seeped through the soil was hard-won and heartbreakingly shared with pigs, cattle, and disease.

“It’s not just the animals,” says Abubakari Yakubu, a local elder and one of the many who spent years leading daily treks to find water. “Upstream, they dump waste. We drink it anyway because we have no choice.”

Yakubu’s words echo across this thirsty village of over 500 residents, scattered across miles of farmland where farming still depends on the whims of the sky.

The cost of that desperation has been devastating: typhoid, eye infections, skin diseases, and even pregnancy losses blamed on contaminated water.

“My people are sick, but how do we stop drinking when there’s nothing else?” Yakubu asks, shaking his head.

Young Hakeem Alhassan remembers the long walks after school to fetch water—some days, up to six kilometers. “I didn’t like being sent,” he admits, his voice small but firm. “I wanted to play, to read. But the water had to come first.”

Bawa Kunde, is the Assemblyman for the area.

“The water situation is worse in these parts. No one has clean water in the entire area. The cattle pollute the water. One of the diseases they complain of is typhoid fever” – Bawa Kunde

Bawa has fought for help, but so far, his efforts have come up short.

“I have written to the authorities for so long. But here we are. No support. Maybe they will bring it in the future” – Bawa Kunde

That routine of suffering, however, has been interrupted.

Thanks to a life-changing collaboration between the Rotary Club of Turlock (California, USA), the Rotary Club of Accra West (Ghana), and local NGO Meaning Life International, Amenamu is now home to a borehole—its first reliable source of safe, clean drinking water.

“I first traveled to Ghana in 2016,” says Randy Fiorini, a farmer and member of the Rotary Club of Turlock. “The contrast between what we had at home and what I saw here was night and day.”

“What Rotary has done here is provide clean drinking water that will change the lives of generations for this village. And we want to repeat that over and over and again throughout Ghana. Our goal is to eliminate poor drinking water in Ghana.” – Randy Fiorini

Each borehole, costing $9,500, is more than a machine—it’s a symbol of dignity restored. And it's not just about installation. The community has now sworn in a local water management committee, a group responsible for maintaining the new water system, making sure the pumps never run dry.

“The water is a gift to the community,” says Professor Kwame Aquaah, Project Director from the Rotary Club of Accra West.

“This is the wash program. Under that program, we provide water to places that don’t have it and places that suffer from waterborne diseases. Eight boreholes in all. Amenamu and Nkyensie in the Ashanti Region. Three in the Volta Region. The water is a gift to the community. They have to maintain it. We had an education program where we teach them how to maintain the gift we have given them”

The project is only the beginning. The partners say Amenamu is just one stop on a broader mission to rid Ghana of unsafe drinking water, village by village, borehole by borehole.

And for Yakubu and his family, the days of digging in the dirt are finally behind them.