48
HEALTH AND SANITATION
RETURN TO GHANA
This past February, I returned to Ghana. This time my wife
joined the team. As we stepped off the plane, I thought of
the words of Dr Kevin. The heat, humidity, and smell felt
like a homecoming. I was happy to be back in Ghana.
Prior to leaving, I asked my friends at IAPMO if they could
help me doctor the poster of “The Plumber Protects
the Health of the Nation.” With a brilliant graphics
department, the plumber became Ghanaian. All of the
people in the crowd also became black rather than white.
The poster reflected the population of Ghana. It now
serves the people and the plumbing profession in Ghana.
Fundraising efforts helped to improve what can be done
on each visit to Ghana. This year, efforts on providing
better water quality resulted in the purchase and
donation of many village water filters. The filter can
provide clean water each day to an entire (small) village.
Funding also allowed six new borehole wells to be added
to villages in need.
While visiting the village of Saafi, I had the opportunity
to interact with the women and children near the new
borehole. The borehole had been completed, but the
pump had not been installed. As a result, the old dug
October 2018 Volume 24 I Number 8
well was still being used. The women wanted the new
borehole so they could get clean water. They started to
complain to me about the muddy water coming out of
the dug well.
The gathering at the dug well is a social experience for
the women and children. They interact with the families
in the village and trade stories. There is also a certain
mojo that each one uses to fetch the water. You cannot
simply pump or pull up buckets of water, you need to
have a specific rhythm.
The women then insisted that I pull up some water in
the rubbers (their term for the special buckets used in
the dug well). The woman in charge first tied the rope
connected to the rubber to a concrete weight having a
hook. I felt somewhat insulted since they were afraid I
might drop the rubber and rope into the well.
The rubber was thrown into the well and the women
started laughing, telling me to pull up the water. I had
no rhythm and only pulled on the rope. It was then that
I realised how strong these women are. The rubber full
of water was heavy. Yet, they had theatrics pulling up
their ropes. The more I pulled, the louder they laughed.
I realised that this white man can’t dance. Any attempt
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