Rev. Father Sebastian Zaato with TADO officials commissioning the water project in Tamale
The Tamale Archdiocesan Development Office (TADO) has provided Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and borehole to some selected schools in Tamale and Kumbungu in the Northern Region.
The facilities include 5-seater toilets with changing rooms for females during their menstrual period and mechanized boreholes.
The facilities under the “Building, Resilience for Improved Development and Growth of Pupils’ Education (BRIDGE) Project” seeks to ensure that children in schools and vulnerable communities have access to safe drinking water using pedagogical targeting to reach over 12,000 children by 2025, ensuring that retention and academic performance of children in 30 schools increased by 70% by 2025 as well as pupils in the targeted 30 schools have access and practice proper personal hygiene and sound environmental sanitation by 2025.
The beneficiary schools are Bishops St. Gabriel R/C Primary, Kanvilli R/C Primary, Voggu R/C Primary, St. Anthony R/C Primary in Salaga and Wiae R/C Primary in Kpandai.
Project Coordinator of TADO, Rev. Father Sebastian Zaato, was optimistic that the facilities would help the pupils to stay healthy to be able to go to school regularly.
According to him, the facilities would also help enhance personal hygiene practices of the pupils.
Rev. Father Sebastian Zaato, hinted that they have provided health insurance cards for pupils who are not on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to be able to cater for their needs when they fall sick.
He urged the beneficiary schools to ensure that they take good care of the facilities for the betterment of the pupils and the schools.
The Project Coordinator of TADO said the Catholic Church does not only preach the word of God but also advocates for a healthy society.
“The Catholic Church is motivated in many ways, we don’t just want to preach the word of God, we also want to have a healthy community so that they can also contribute to the development of the society and when that is done we will have peace and our society will develop,” he said.
The Northern Regional Manager of the Catholic Education Unit, Nyuurbome Lazarus, commended TADO for initiating such a massive project.
“Some pupils especially the females do not come to school because of discomfort and mockery they receive from their male counterparts when they are menstruating and so these facilities will provide them the opportunity to be able to change when they are in their menstrual period and will be able to come to school regularly”.
He assured TADO that the managers of the beneficiary schools will ensure the facilities are maintained so that more projects will be brought to the schools.
BY Eric Kombat, Tamale