DM philanthropist Organisation LBG has provided the Sekyedumase community in the Ejura-Sekyedumase Municipality of the Ashanti Region with two ultra-modern toilet facilities at the cost of GH¢ 1.3 million to improve sanitation in the area, particularly open defecation, a major challenge for the community.
The two facilities, located at Appiaso and Market Square both in Sekyedumase, have a 14-seater water closet toilets, 10 bathrooms and changing rooms each.
In a speech read on his behalf at the inauguration on Tuesday, the founder and chairman of DM Philanthropist Organisation LBG, Mr Douglas Mensah, said the facilities were constructed to deal with the problem of open defecation and also bring relief to the community in terms of a decent place of convenience where ‘nature’s call’ can be obeyed.
“This project came into being after a thorough assessment of the needs of the town and our commitment and interest to the subject of sanitation,” Mr Mensah said.
The research team upon findings realised the need for a suitable place of convenience for the town to replace existing dilapidated ones which posed a major health problem for the people, hence our choice for the theme – “Improving sanitation in rural communities, the need to provide adequate toilet facilities,” he added.
Mr Mensah said a joint effort would be needed to curb and combat the bad practice of people who still defecate into plastic bags and pollute the environment by indiscriminately disposing them off.
According to him, statistics from the World Sanitation Programme, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and WaterAid indicate that 2.4 billion people or about one-third of the world’s population lack access to improved sanitation, that is, facilities that hygienically separate human excreta from human contact and one billion people still practiced open defecation.
Open Defecation, according to the WHO, was a leading cause of diarrhoea death which stands at around 6,000 a day mostly young children.
For his part, the Adontehene of Sekyedumase, Nana Osei Acheampong I, said a task force had been set up to deal with people who would openly defecate as the non-governmental organisation had provided them with toilet facilities.
He commended the Founder and Chairman of DM Philanthropist Organisation LBG for his kind gesture and urged others to emulate him.
Mr Mensah was represented at the occasion by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Organisaiton, Reverend Stephen Kwasi Badu.
FROM TIMES REPORTER, SEKYEDUMASE
