Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) is a non-profit partnership between the private sector, NGOs and research institutions focused on solving the global problem of inadequate water and sanitation in low-income urban communities. Borouge and Borealis became members of WSUP in 2007 as part of their “Water for the World” initiative.
In the Kotei district of Kumasi, Ghana, there was no main water supply and people had to collect water from unapproved and unregulated independent water suppliers. It usually fell to school children who spent many hours each day fetching water for their homes and schools. Collecting water usually took priority over study, resulting in low school performance levels and high school drop-out rates, especially for girls. In this story 12 year old Suzy Pokkuaa describes the impact of the building of new standpipes as part of the Oforikom programme, which is supported by WSUP.
Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) is a non-profit partnership between the private sector, NGOs and research institutions focused on solving the global problem of inadequate water and sanitation in low-income urban communities. Borouge and Borealis became members of WSUP in 2007 as part of their “Water for the World” initiative in order to help them make a real difference to these people’s lives.
Kumasi is the capital city of the Ashanti region, which is a very important and historical centre for Ghana and is visited by many tourists each year. However like many cities in Africa there are many poor communities living outside the city centre where basic services such as water and sanitation are sub-standard. One example in Kumasi is the urban area of Kotei where water supply presented a major challenge for the entire community. Until recently, there was no water supplied to Kotei by Kumasi’s main water utility, which meant that the community was forced to use water from unapproved and unregulated independent water suppliers.