Dedeiman Community In Ga West Municipality Cry For Good Water, Public Toilet And Clinic

Dedeiman, a farming community of about 1,300 people in the Ga West Municipal in the Greater Accra Region cannot boast of common life essential needs to make life better for them.

Through the health outreach program of a non-governmental organization (NGO), Escof Zinnia Foundation (EZF), Peacefmonline.com discovered that the people of Dedeiman, a suburb of Accra is bereft of good water, public toilet and a clinic.

Speaking to some of the people in Dedeiman, they said the only stream serving the community is being shared with cows and other animals, giving them constant rashes, and the only place of convenience for both young and the old is in the bush.

"We share our river which is the only source of water with cows and since our public toilet collapsed 10 years ago, our place of convenience is in the bush. We are suffering in this community and we want the government to come to our aid," a resident said.

The Assembly member, Hon. Beatrice Agbalenyo also mentioned that one major challenge which is preventing investors from coming to the community is the bad road network.

She stressed that even though the present government has approved for the road construction, she is pleading with the government to give the contractor some money to resume work on the road.

The Assembly member again pleaded with the government to plant one of the factories in the Dedeiman community so that her people can find jobs to do; thus, the land owners are ready to release their lands for the one-district one-factory project.

She further called on the Ministry of Health to establish one of the CHIPS in Dedeiman as they find it difficult accessing health care in Amasaman.

“Sometimes getting a vehicle to the nearby CHIP compound or to Amasaman hospital is a problem and so if government can give us a CHIP compound at Dedeiman, it will be of help to our people,” she cried out.

In an interview with the CEO of Escof Zinnia Foundation, Esther Coffie, averred that Dedeiman was chosen because the people don’t have a health centre and that the stream called River NSEKYE is their only source of drinking water.

She added that as part of their four main programs which are empowerment program, health outreach, educational campaign and Village tour; their visit to Dedeiman was to offer free health screening to the community and also give them free medicine for treatment.

Madam Esther Coffie addressing the media said their slogan “an instrument of community transformation” makes them to focus on the entire community than some selected individuals; hence their visit to Dedeiman to medically screen all and sundry and offer medical solutions.

She maintained that the focus of the Escof Zinnia Foundation is the remote villages which see life in a different way; reiterating that the work of the NGO is voluntary as they depend on family and friends for funds to run the operation of the NGO.

With Dedeiman health outreach, individuals and institutions like TrustChoice Health Centre, Unilever Ghana Ltd, Kofi Mankoe Photography, Evince Imagery and Barimah Photography voluntarily came out to help Escof Zinnia Foundation to make the program a success.