Ghana School Gets Clean Water After Years of Struggle

For years, students at St. Mary's Anglican Primary School in Akotolante, Ghana walked long distances during school hours just to find clean water. That daily struggle ended this month when the school commissioned a complete water infrastructure system including a borehole, pump, and storage tank.

Stanbic Bank Ghana partnered with the traditional authority of Asere-Amartse We in the Ga State to fund and build the project. The initiative was spearheaded by Queenmother Naa-Amorkor Shika Futru I, who also works as Head of Business Enablement at Stanbic Bank.

The water shortage had disrupted teaching and learning for years, forcing pupils and staff to leave campus during instructional time. Poor hygiene from limited water access led to illness and absenteeism that threatened to drive students away from education entirely.

"When schools lack clean water, the effects go far beyond inconvenience," the Queenmother said at the commissioning ceremony. She described water access as both a public health necessity and a national development priority that directly impacts whether children stay in school.

Head Teacher Reverend Patricia Essuman called the intervention transformative for the entire school community. Academic performance had suffered as instructional time was lost to water collection trips, and staff struggled to maintain basic hygiene standards.

The Ripple Effect

The project demonstrates what's possible when traditional leadership, private sector resources, and community involvement align around a shared goal. Mawuko Afadzinu, Head of Brand and Marketing at Stanbic Bank Ghana, emphasized that the bank chose to support this initiative because of the clear passion and purpose behind it.

The Queenmother challenged other traditional leaders across Ghana to expand their focus beyond cultural preservation to include education infrastructure. She argued that supporting systems that nurture capable, healthy children directly secures the future of entire communities.

Community members, religious leaders, elders, and youth all participated in the commissioning ceremony. That collective involvement from the start creates ownership and ensures the water system will be maintained for years to come, inspiring the next generation to give back in similar ways.

The project aligns with Stanbic Bank's broader sustainability agenda of supporting inclusive growth through targeted, high-impact interventions. Clean water access removes a fundamental barrier to learning and creates the conditions where students can focus on their education instead of basic survival needs.