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Ghana: Saviefe Deme from Heather Ayvazian on Vimeo. |
The Ghana Project’s primary goal in this community is to alleviate the pressures that result from an inadequate local water supply. The existing water supplies are unable to provide a reliable and consistent volume of water during the dry season (December through March). This issue is highlighted daily when community members have to search for alternative water sources by walking over a mile to the nearest village. This will be accomplished by building and implementing a rainwater catchment system and biosand filters on the Junior High School and kindergarten. The secondary objective of this project is to collect data and project information regarding the existing water supply in the Saviefe-Deme community in order to plan for future sustainable improvements.
The village of Saviefe-Deme is located in southeast Ghana, approximately 16 kilometers from Lake Volta. The regional capital of Ho is located 30 km from Saviefe-Deme and Accra is 174 km away. Nearly 500 men, women, and children live in this rural community. The population of the village is split, (approximately 300 on the west side and 200 on the east side) by a main road that leads to the neighboring towns of Dzolokpuita (Northeast) and Anfoeta (Southwest). As there are no connecting roadways, this main road is a major artery and has no known speed limit. The sources of water for the community include wells and a stream. The wells provide an inconsistent supply of water as they always dry up during the dry season. The stream is nearby and also dries up during the dry season.
International travel officially began in May of 2015 to Ghana as the result of an ongoing 2-year relationship with the community. To ensure the success of this project, the Ghana Project is partnered with Ghana ACT, an NGO that works in the village of Saviefe-Deme. John Barber is the founder of Ghana ACT and works with the project in order to ensure our success. Furthermore, the team is in contact with Charles Nutsukpui: a member of the community that hosts the team in-country and assists when the team is in the United States. He has been appointed by the elders of Saviefe-Deme to be the liaison from the town. He is the translator and provides the team with updates about the community. Richard Anku, the director of the Humanity and Community Development Projects (HCDP), is a contact that was connected to the project by John Barber and Liam Lynch (from Ghana ACT). Those at the HCDP have spent years building and setting up primary and junior high school computer labs and community facilities in the region. He has helped the team during the previous assessment trips and has just recently been traveling in and around Ho gathering information needed about the boreholes in the village of Saviefe-Deme.
The village of Saviefe-Deme is located in southeast Ghana, approximately 16 kilometers from Lake Volta. The regional capital of Ho is located 30 km from Saviefe-Deme and Accra is 174 km away. Nearly 500 men, women, and children live in this rural community. The population of the village is split, (approximately 300 on the west side and 200 on the east side) by a main road that leads to the neighboring towns of Dzolokpuita (Northeast) and Anfoeta (Southwest). As there are no connecting roadways, this main road is a major artery and has no known speed limit. The sources of water for the community include wells and a stream. The wells provide an inconsistent supply of water as they always dry up during the dry season. The stream is nearby and also dries up during the dry season.
International travel officially began in May of 2015 to Ghana as the result of an ongoing 2-year relationship with the community. To ensure the success of this project, the Ghana Project is partnered with Ghana ACT, an NGO that works in the village of Saviefe-Deme. John Barber is the founder of Ghana ACT and works with the project in order to ensure our success. Furthermore, the team is in contact with Charles Nutsukpui: a member of the community that hosts the team in-country and assists when the team is in the United States. He has been appointed by the elders of Saviefe-Deme to be the liaison from the town. He is the translator and provides the team with updates about the community. Richard Anku, the director of the Humanity and Community Development Projects (HCDP), is a contact that was connected to the project by John Barber and Liam Lynch (from Ghana ACT). Those at the HCDP have spent years building and setting up primary and junior high school computer labs and community facilities in the region. He has helped the team during the previous assessment trips and has just recently been traveling in and around Ho gathering information needed about the boreholes in the village of Saviefe-Deme.
