SOS Children’s Villages Ghana, as part of its family strengthening (FS) project, has commissioned a solar energy project in Papramanten, a village in the Fanteakwa North district of the Eastern region.

The project, which was done in collaboration with Joissam Company Limited and Green Tec Africa is part of the organisation’s goal of building the capacity of families and communities by providing them with support and resources to empower them to become self-reliant.

The solar energy project, which symbolizes a collective commitment to ensure that every child has access to a fundamental resource essential for life, consists of a water pump to serve as a life-sustaining water source and also generate electricity for the Papramanten community.

To begin with, the project has installed with solar lights, a potable water container, a refrigerator for food storage by the community and a phone charging unit which can accommodate more than 200 phones at a time.

Alexander Mar Kekula, the National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Ghana, said the aim is to provide clean and sustainable energy for communities in line with goal seven of the Sustainable Development Goal.

According to him, the solar energy project is mainly aimed at providing electricity to the Papramanten community which has struggled without a reliable power source.

He said, "Access to electricity is not just a luxury but a fundamental right that can catalyze progress, improve education and enhance healthcare."

Mr Mar Kekula explained that the water pump symbolizes hope, health, and the promise of a better future for the community to improve sanitary practices in schools.

"We have resolved as an organization that promoting Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) will create a positive impact on safe access to water in schools and improve the health, growth and continued education of the children and communities by reducing related disease incidences" he explained.

Mr Mar Kekula affirmed that the main objective of the WASH project is to reduce diseases associated with poor access to potable water which can affect the performance of students and the health of the residents in the community.

"We wish to improve the learning outcomes of children as they will not have to suspend school in search of water or fall ill due to the absence of potable water,"he said.

The Fanteakwa North District Chief Executive, Charles Oware Tweneboah expressed gratitude to SOS Children’s Village and their partners for the kind gesture and called on the people to ensure that the facility was maintained well to benefit the community.

Nene Angmor Tetteh, the Chief of the area said previously community members had to walk long distances to charge their phones, adding that the solar energy facility would make it easy for them to charge their phones and help improve communication in the area.