BUTA PHOTO JOURNAL

Monday, 20 March 2017

WATER FOR LIFE in rural communities.

Fatima is a sixteen-year-old amputee among thousands of children and women who struggle for water in Karaga district in the Northern Region of Ghana.

They walk each day to collect water for cooking, drinking, washing and watering their farm products each and every day, especially in the dry season.

However, a dire lack of facilities in both informal settlements and rural communities alike mean that the poor living in many areas in Northern Region face similar water and sanitation challenges, particularly related to accessibility and safety.

“Women and girls walk on average 6 kilometres to fetch water from Dams, rivers, streams and unprotected springs that are often known to be unsafe for consumption.

These photographs taken at the karaga and Gushiegu dam illustrate how, in many communities in Northern Region people, especially women and children struggle daily to provide water for themselves and their families.

Whiles animals also feed on the same source of water on the other side of the dam as shown in the photograph.

Miss Abby Awuni, a resident in Karaga said, families have no choice than to rely on this source of water for years now, despite report of water borne diseases.

We hope these photographs will help stimulate discussions on the plight of people especially in rural communities who cannot simply turn a tap and access clean, safe drinking water.

As the world celebrates Water Day, taking action to tackle water crisis, there are over 663 million people living without a safe water supply close to home, spending countless hours queuing or trekking to distant sources, and coping with the health impacts of using contaminated water.