A water pump project at the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana, which initially was to provide access to drinking water through the construction of wells on the camp, has been redesigned to provide skills in the production and selling of Rope pumps to Liberian Refugees living on the camp and due for repatriation to Liberia.
Rope pumps are an easy-to-use, inexpensive and effective way of providing clean drinking water for which there is a great need in Liberia. There have been several projects setting up rope pumps in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa, and it is slowly gaining ground, but it is not as simple as it seemed on the surface.
The redesigning of the project became necessary when it was realized that Point Hope Foundation, a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Seattle, Washington, in conjunction with World Vision, USA, has started a project to provide access to Pipe Borne Water for the camp dwellers. The camp, which has more than 30,000 Liberians, faces problems in getting clean and safe drinking water.
After a successful election in Liberia in November 2005, following several years of civil war, Liberians are expected to return home mostly through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Voluntary repatriation program. The challenges of returning to a country after many years of battle are enormous, mainly due to the fact that refugees are returning to a destroyed country in terms of economy, infrastructure, education, clean water and sanitation, and health care.
To facilitate early recovery of Liberia from its current state, the need for returning refugees to contribute to rebuilding is crucial. To assist in this process some NGOs have come together to discuss plans for implementation of the project. These are:
- RESPECT Ghana, a registered NGO in Ghana, has been working as a refugee support organization on the Buduburam Refugee Camp for over three years.
- Society of African Missions (SMA) is a catholic foundation with Catholic missionaries coming from around the world with a commitment to serve the people of Africa. On the Buduburam Camp, SMA is offering various services in addition to running a vocational training school with various departments, including carpentry, architecture, masonry, dress-making, and plumbing.
- KAjo is a Dutch development-consulting group based in Techiman, with expertise in the production of rope pumps and business development.
SMA and RESPECT, with the support of KAjo, wish to equip refugees of the Buduburam Refugee Camp and the teachers of the SMA technical school (all Liberians), with hands-on knowledge on how to produce and sell rope pumps as a means to generate income on the refugees' return to Liberia.
It was resolved that the project will indeed be very useful and timely, especially as Liberia has a great demand for such technologies to help boost access to clean water. The SMA also indicated its interest in adapting the training as part of its future curriculum as it hopes to relocate to Liberia within the next year.
For more information about the rope pumps project, contact:
- Fred Ayifli
- RESPECT Ghana
- Country Coordinator
- ghana@respectrefugees.org
- Buduburam Refugee Camp:
- Alfred Kayee
- Programs Coordinator
- buduburam@respectrefugees.org
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