The Rotary Club’s intervention at Eremon Senior High Technical School (SHTS) in the Lawra Municipality has rescued female students from the dire situation of resorting to open defecation in nearby bushes due to the absence of proper toilet facilities.

The lack of suitable sanitation facilities for both male and female students had made open defecation endemic in the school.

This not only exposed students to the risk of sanitation-related diseases such as cholera but also subjected them to life-threatening dangers, including encounters with reptiles and other harmful animals, particularly at night.

In response, the Rotary Club of Wa, in partnership with the Rotary Club of San Jose, California, commissioned a 10-seater septic tank toilet facility with water access at a cost of $13,250 for the female students.

The initiative aimed to alleviate their plight and improve hygiene in the school.

This intervention was spearheaded by Rotarian Alfreda Afisah Eghan of the Rotary Club of San Jose, California, who also led resource mobilisation for the recently commissioned $100,000 school Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) project in Bole, Savannah Region.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony at Eremon, Dr Zakarea Al-Hassan Balure, President of the Rotary Club of Wa, reaffirmed the club’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for teaching and learning.

He emphasised that access to WASH services was crucial in fostering a healthy and supportive atmosphere for academic activities.

“The pride of Rotarians is to see that our efforts yield the desired results and positively impact the expected beneficiaries,” Dr Balure stated.

In a message delivered on her behalf, Rotarian Maame Florence Hagan, District 9104 Governor, urged the school’s management to ensure proper maintenance of the facility.

To support this, the Club inaugurated a sustainability committee to oversee the maintenance of the facility and ensure its longevity for future generations.

In addition to this intervention, the Rotary Club of Wa had previously donated ten desktop computers to the school to enhance the teaching and learning of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Dr Balure expressed gratitude to the school’s management for their unwavering support in facilitating the project’s successful execution.

Mr Issah Ibrahim Saibu, Headmaster of Eremon SHTS, thanked the Rotary Clubs of Wa and San Jose, California, for their invaluable support, which he said would significantly improve hygiene in the school.

He assured the benefactors that the school’s management would work closely with the sustainability committee to uphold a proper maintenance culture for the facility.

Mr Saibu also noted that the ten computers had already enhanced ICT teaching and learning, contributing to an improvement in students’ performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Some students who spoke to the Ghana News Agency expressed their delight with the project, saying it would spare them the anxiety of having to go into the bush to relieve themselves while in class, preserving their dignity and ensuring their safety.

Rotarian Agambire Inusah Alhassan, Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Wa, encouraged guests and school authorities to join Rotary and contribute to transforming their communities.

The theme for the 2024/2025 Rotary year, "Be the Magic of Rotary," encourages Rotarians to recognise and amplify the organisation's ability to save lives.