It was all fanfare at Asuboi as officials of Moneygram broke the ground for work to begin on the drilling of two boreholes for the community. Excited residents expressed joy at signs of an end to their water problems by applauding speaker after speaker at the ceremony, amid music and dancing. Construction of the boreholes is being financed by Moneygram an estimated cost of GHS25,000. It is the company’s gesture to improve life at Asuboi where about 70 per cent of the about 2,500 population is at risk of river blindness following the invasion of black flies in the area. Nhyira FM’s Ohemeng Tawiah who first broke the story was at the ceremony and reported that the short but colourful sod-cutting ceremony, attended by Ashanti Regional Deputy Minister; Animah Wilson, convinced residents they were on the threshold of getting out of their plight. The town has, for the past one month, been in the news for the river blindness infection, compounded by the inability of health personnel to reach residents with medical support as a result of the poor condition of the road leading to the farming community from Abofour on the main Kumasi - Techiman Road. The road which before the last one month had seen no rehabilitation for five years is now motorable. Light cargo trucks which used to ply the road, especially on market days, have now been joined by taxis and mini vans. So it was all joy when Moneygram Anglophone West Africa regional director, Funmi Omitowoju addressed the expectant residents of Asuboi. Assemblyman, Philip Amponsah Boakye, who echoed the feelings of his constituents, hardly believed the Moneygram Director could travel from Nigeria to Asuboi for their sake. They were however convinced a solution to their problem had truly arrived after learning of some projects Moneygram had undertaken elsewhere. Ms Omitowoju noted that she was touched by the river blindness story for which she commended the Multimedia Group for bringing the plight of the people to public attention, saying “this amply demonstrates that the private sector can team up to help government bring development to our people in our every day work.” She explained Moneygram’s decision to come to the rescue of residents of Asuboi thus; “It is very important and it was very touching when it was mentioned that there are so many water-related diseases that our villagers have contracted after drinking polluted water…It is only a responsible thing for any individual as well as corporate organizations to get involved in as much as possible to help government to achieve their own aims to ensure citizens are well-looked after.” “Health is an issue we all understand and we all know as well, health is wealth. If you don’t have health, you certainly can never be prosperous and that is why we have decided at Moneygram to do this laudable event here,” she said.