We ran out of water completely from the rainwater harvesting cisterns. The 3^rd graders and older children from other grades began carrying water to school.  The problem was discussed at a PTA and several options were considered for the immediate relief, including asking mothers to assume the task as before.  However, some women spoke of their already heavy workload and it was decided parents pay GHS 1.00 per child. I agreed that PAMBE Ghana will supplement their contributions to pay for 10 trips of carting water at GHS 25.00 per trip.  The Langbinsi Presbyterian Agricultural Station provides this service. The water is dirty, and unless filtered, is not safe for drinking.  But dirty water also quenches fire! This has really put water in focus even more than before. I submitted an application to the district assembly, and spoke with the water and sanitation team about a feasibility study for a borehole. Luckily for us, a team of water technicians, including hydro geologists, was engaged to do feasibility studies for drilling water wells in the district. With the help of Mr. Alhassan from the district water and sanitation team, I was able to negotiate a two-day study to find if there’s appreciable ground water near the school to merit the cost of drilling a well. They first gathered information on an existing drilled well near the village about a mile and half from the school, as a baseline. They were able to find two possible sites near LLC, one of which had slightly higher potential. I am considering three options to address the water problem. The ultimate goal is to have a permanent source of clean potable water in the school. a)     Drill a well (borehole) close to LLC and mechanize it, after undertaking a “pump test” which will include the quality of the water and yield/min.  Pump the water (with a solar water pump) to an overhead tank. b)     Lay pipes from an existing well (one and half miles away) to LLC and mechanize as above. c)     Build another rainwater harvesting system and continue to expand as the student population increases. According to the feasibility studies just done, option a) will be more reliable and cheaper eventually.

Hello, Take it that you open a bag of corn, deep your hand inside to fetch, touch something strange, peep inside the bag and see the attached. What will you do? This was the experience one female teacher of the Bumboazio (La’angum) school encountered one early morning in her usual duty to serve the cooks with their usual daily food quantities to prepare school lunch. I wish you were there to see how the teacher and cooks took to their heels. The children without taking to verify as to what was happening also took off after having seen their teacher and cooks racing. Fortunately some 2 male parents passing to Langbinsi came to the aid of the other male teachers to fight and kill this reptile. On one instance, Alice was in the store room alone when a snake entered through the door. You could hear her screaming even from 200 meters away. The school has a lot of these reptiles around the bushes and rocks. The parents do organize communal labour and clear round the school but the reptiles still remain in the holes under the rocks. Teachers and children are terrified, run and classes disrupted anytime they spot one. The teachers and children are worried and does not appreciate how we share our classrooms with these reptiles. This is indeed worrisome and your suggestions on how to control this classroom sharing is highly welcome. Counting much on your advices and suggestions!!! Bukari Baba