The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) has provided two mechanised boreholes to the Navrongo Senior High School in the Kassena-Nankana municipality of the Upper East Region at a cost of GH¢100,000 to help address the school’s acute water shortages.
The licenced operator of the National Transmission System, which began the construction in late 2022 under GRIDCo’s Education Support Initiative, also added polytanks with taps connected to the dormitories of students and other major areas of the school.
Speaking during the inauguration ceremony at the project site, Corporate Communications Manager of GRIDCo, Dzifa Bampoh, explained that the gesture is part of one of the company’s core values which demonstrate GRIDCO’s commitment to supporting stakeholders in its operational areas. “It is also in line with GRIDCo’s Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal six; thus, to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all,” she said.
Mercy Babachuweh, Headmistress of the school, expressed gratitude to GRIDCo for the intervention and noted the support came at a time the school was faced a water crisis.
She said before the intervention, the school had only two mechanised boreholes and four manual ones which were serving 2,034 students and 78 staff who are staying on campus; adding that the situation was putting lots of pressure on the boreholes, leading to constant breakdowns and increasing financial pressure on the school.
Apart from that, the situation affected contact hours as many students had to move out of the campus in search of water.
The Headmistress however appealed for more support to renovate and expand the school’s dining hall – which has limited space and is in a dilapidated state, with the roof leaking whenever it rains.
The Kassena-Nankana Municipal Director of the Ghana Education Service, Alice Ellen Abeere-Inga, expressed optimism that the facilities will improve sanitation practices – especially good hygiene among girls during their menstrual periods; and advised management and the students to ensure the facilities last to serve the purpose for which they were provided.
Senior Prefect of the school, Simon Anyoka Nyaaba, noted that due to difficulty in getting water on campus, some students took advantage of the situation to move out of the school to engage in unproductive ventures. He said academic work will improve as a result of the support from GRIDCo, and thanked them for their kind gesture.
