MoneyGram has commissioned a mechanized borehole for residents of Somanya Abokobi in the Yilo-Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region.

The commissioning was done by a high level MoneyGram International delegation,which consisted of Mr. Peter Ohser, Executive Vice President, US & Canada, Mr. Herve Chomel, Vice President for Africa, Mr. Francois Peyret, Regional Manager, Maghreb and West Africa, Juan Melendez, Vice President, Retail Sales & Partnerships, Ms. Sabine Bauchau, Marketing Director, Africa, Janice Ong, Director – Corridor Development, North America Money Transfer Outbound, Ms. Pharis Moenga – (Senior Marketing Manager US –Africa Corridors) and Ms. Hasna Lakrafi (Marketing Manager – African Diasporas).

MoneyGram provided the borehole due to the residents not having access to safe drinking water. For years, the residents in the area have been forced to walk long distances in search of water on daily basis. The only pipe-borne water in the community was constructed in 1957, but deteriorated over the years and is now out of use. Throwing light on their plight, Senior sub-Divisional Chief of the area, Nene Obu Nartey said: “It’s a very difficult water situation we have here. It is very, very serious. During the dry season, people would travel about a mile before they get water, and even that one, it’s only dirty water we get.”

“Now, we hope that our health situation would improve and the sickness from drinking bad water would go away,” he said, at a durbar of the chiefs and people of the area to commission the mechanized borehole. 

             

In her speech, Ms. Pharis Moenga – (Marketing Manager US –Africa Corridors) highlighted the support MoneyGram is providing to various communities in Ghana. She mentioned MoneyGram has already provided water projects to Asuboi  in the  Ashanti Region and Wa School for the Blind. She appealed to the community to maintain the borehole regularly to ensure its continuous use.

Mr. Peter Ohser, Janice Ong and Nene Obu Nartey cut the tape to commission the mechanized borehole. Residents of the community expressed joy and gratitude to MoneyGram for providing water to the community. The residents commended MoneyGram for responding rapidly to their plight, and assured they would do their best to support the project, and ensure regular maintenance of the borehole. 

In early 2013, Joy FM revealed the plight of the residents in a Hotline Documentary, which officials of MoneyGram responded to by initiating the construction of the mechanized bore hole. This is the second time MoneyGram is responding to the plight of a community in distress for clean water, following a Joy news report. In 2010, MoneyGram constructed two boreholes for Asuboi, a community in the Ashanti region, after a report by Nhyira FM’s Ohemeng Tawiah.

In his concluding remarks, the Snr. Marketing Executive, Anglophone West Africa for Moneygram, Kofi Akyea encouraged the people to take great care of the facility.