Here we tell the story of Maadwoa, a 14-year-old girl. This is her story:
Maame Adwoa – Maadwoa for short – loves going to school. But she always arrived tired and late. Her reason for this deeply moved Pastor Philip Asamoah: every morning, Maadwoa had to fetch drinking water for her family.
The walk took nearly an hour to reach the water source deep in the bush. She would then carry the water canister, holding about 10 litres, on her head all the way home.
Only then was she allowed to set off on the long journey to school.
Pastor Asamoah knows what that’s like. He, too, often had to set off in the morning before school to fetch water for his family.
There were no wells back then. The river running through Maase swells considerably during the rainy season. But in the dry season, often only a feeble trickle remains, and sometimes nothing but mud. That is not really drinking water, but rather a dirty slurry, essentially undrinkable.
Pastor Asamoah could not stop thinking about Maadwoa.
So he had a well dug near her family’s house – by hand, of course. The brick lining prevents it from collapsing, and the cover prevents any contamination from outside. Clear drinking water, and within easy reach of the house – what a step forward!
Now, access to clean drinking water is becoming a reality for more and more people in the region. Eight wells have already been put into operation, and further ones are in the planning stage.