MODERN TOILET FACILITIES HANDED OVER TO SCHOOLS IN BONGO 27th Feb., 2019

The Bongo District Assembly in collaboration with its development partners, UNICEF on Wednesday February 27, 2019, handed over newly constructed and furnished toilet and urinal facilities to some basic schools across the district.

The beneficiary schools included the Beo-Tankoo Junior High School [JHS], Beo-Tankoo Primary, the Ghanadaa R/C JHS and Primary schools and Ayopia Primary school.

Bongo DCE, Hon. Peter A. Ayamga [in smock] presenting keys to the toilet at Beo-Tankoo JHS

Bongo District Chief Executive [DCE], Hon. Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga who led a team of his technical staff at the Assembly and representatives from the development partners, first handed over an eight-seater pour-flush toilet to the Beo-Tankoo Junior High School. The facility is to be used by both male and female pupils of the school.

In his brief remarks at the Beo-Tankoo JHS, Hon. Ayinbisa cautioned the students against bad hygiene practices stressing that “after you visit the toilet and after attending to the urinals, please make it a point to wash your hands with clean water and soap”. He further urged the students not to practice their good hygiene habits only at school but to do same at home and also encourage their parents and siblings to adhere to good hygiene behaviours.

The DCE recalled that about three or so months ago, the contractor was introduced to site at a time the beneficiary schools either had dilapidated toilets or had none at all and was therefore elated that, the projects were completed on time and were ready for use. He disclosed that funding for all the works was borne by the Government of Ghana and UNICEF.

One of the toilet facilities

He charged school authorities to ensure a proper maintenance regime for the facilities so as to prolong their life span while he entreated the school children, not to splash fecal matter in the inner parametres of the toilets as such an act, will make the facilities unwelcoming to other users and therefore, cause many to resort to Open Defecation.

Hon. Ayinbisa said that the toilets were mainly designed to collect rain water into reserviours for flushing purposes but observed that since the rainy season doesn’t usually last long enough in the area, he would ensure that the Assembly drilled boreholes as a component to the facilities.

The Director of Beyond The Goal Post, Miss Hilda Adda in her remarks said her organisation had sourced funding from UNICEF to strengthen good Water, Sanitation and Hygiene [WASH] practices and habits among school children in the district. She added that her outfit was doing so through a sports intervention known as “Football For WASH”. She therefore presented three different bags-load of assorted football gears including sets of customised jerseys bearing the schools’ names, footballs, goal post and nets and referee whistles among others.

Miss Adda however noted a few defects with the Beo-Tankoo JHS projects and demanded that the contractor fixed them up before the final contract payments were effected.