By Jones Anlimah
Republic Bank PLC has handed over a mechanised water facility to Taviefe Senior High School in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region to help improve access to safe drinking water and support quality education in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The project, commissioned in collaboration with the Volta Regional Coordinating Council and the Ho Municipal Assembly, is expected to ease the long-standing water challenges facing students and staff of the school.
Speaking at the handing-over ceremony, the Managing Director of Republic Bank PLC, Dr. Benjamin Dzoboku, said the initiative forms part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme targeted at selected SDGs, including quality education, clean water and sanitation, good health, and climate action.
“Water, they say, is life,” Dr. Dzoboku stated. “Republic Bank is committed to projects like this that bring dignity, good health and opportunity to the communities that we serve.”
He expressed confidence that the facility would positively impact academic work at the school by reducing the time students spend searching for water.
“Because of this water, there should be an improvement in educational performance of Taviefe Senior High School,” he said, while urging students to take good care of the facility.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr. James Gunu, described the intervention as a significant contribution towards the attainment of SDG 6, which seeks universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation by 2030.
“We want to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Six by 2030 — achieving universal access to clean drinking water and sanitation,” he said.
Mr. Gunu noted that the Volta Region still faces a huge water deficit, requiring nearly 900 additional boreholes across schools, health facilities and communities.
“The government has decided that every Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembly should provide at least ten boreholes, but we still need all hands on deck,” he stressed, appealing to other corporate institutions to emulate Republic Bank’s example.
According to him, the water project will not only improve sanitation but also enhance academic performance among students.
“If students spend three or four hours searching for water and now get it within fifteen or thirty minutes, the remaining time can be used profitably for studies and rest,” the Regional Minister added.
Former Headmaster of Taviefe SHS, Mr. Abue Shadrach, who spoke on behalf of the school community, recalled the difficult conditions students previously endured in search of water.
“There was a time we were hearing that Taviefe students were suffering and fetching dirty water,” he said. “Today, that statement should become a thing of the past.”
He assured the donors and stakeholders that the school would prioritise maintenance of the facility to ensure its sustainability.
Traditional leaders at the ceremony also advised students to protect the water system and maintain discipline on campus to maximise the benefits of the intervention.
The mechanised borehole is expected to provide reliable water supply for students and staff, while contributing to improved health, sanitation and educational outcomes at the school.
