Dailycsr.com – 17 August 2015 – The “St. Maurice R/C JHS” school of La, Accra has been used to of a forty five year old “depleted rest room”. The poor lavatory was the only toilet facility in the area which served both the community members and the school staff. The people of this school were always at the risk of “health and safety hazard”.
It is only now, thanks to the donation of “GH¢45,000” made by the Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited, that the school campus will have access to better sanitization system. The lavatory system built by the fund of Fidelity Bank has been designed as “a 12-seater “biofil” lavatory”. Consequently, the sanitation and the health issue of the school has improved significantly after the replacement of the “worn-out facility” of toilets.
There is no doubt a “leading indigenous financial institution” which has taken upon itself the endeavour of improving the sanitation facility of Ghana which the bank attributes as their activities of corporate social responsibility. It is a gesture of commitment, whereby the bank has alleged itself as a source of continuous support for the betterment of Ghana’s “needy communities”. In fact, reinforcing the very idea to the public, Fidelity Bank’s deputy Managin Director, Mr. Jim Baiden stated:
It is only now, thanks to the donation of “GH¢45,000” made by the Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited, that the school campus will have access to better sanitization system. The lavatory system built by the fund of Fidelity Bank has been designed as “a 12-seater “biofil” lavatory”. Consequently, the sanitation and the health issue of the school has improved significantly after the replacement of the “worn-out facility” of toilets.
There is no doubt a “leading indigenous financial institution” which has taken upon itself the endeavour of improving the sanitation facility of Ghana which the bank attributes as their activities of corporate social responsibility. It is a gesture of commitment, whereby the bank has alleged itself as a source of continuous support for the betterment of Ghana’s “needy communities”. In fact, reinforcing the very idea to the public, Fidelity Bank’s deputy Managin Director, Mr. Jim Baiden stated:
“Sanitation issues are of paramount concern to Fidelity Bank and everybody in this country. We consider it our corporate social responsibility to help the nation’s development agenda by helping to provide public facilities to improve the lives of Ghanaians.”
Mr. Baiden also informed about the roots of the project whereby the initial stages began, wherein he mentions that the bank was roped in an agreement with the government trying to “provide modern toilet facilities”. In order to effectuate the plan the government of Ghana had launched an initiation called “the Sanitation Business Model One Programme”. The aim of the programme was to increase Ghanaians’ rate of access to proper sanitation, which at present, says Mr. Baiden, include almost 86% of the population. Moreover, there is a shocking number of “3,000 Ghanaian children” who die annual as a victim of “poor water and sanitation” problem. In Baiden’s words:
“These figures demonstrate the terrible state of sanitation in this country and are a call to action to those who have the capacity to make a difference.”
Given the health of Ghanaians’ at stakes due to improper sanitation, Mr. Baiden extends his plea to other companies and institutions to come forward with helping hands whereby they can equally contribute to improve the sanitation of the country. On the other hand, the “Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development”, Nii Lante Vanderpuye also echoed Mr. Baiden in expressing concern over the present sanitation conditions, whereby he said:
“Access to improved sanitation is significantly lower in Ghana as compared to access to water. In Accra, close to about 45percent of people engage in open defecation leading to the higher incidence of cholera and other diseases”.
Consequently, making better sanitation facility has become the “prime” priority on the government’s agenda; thus he added while expressing his thanks to the Fidelity Bank group for their constant support:
“We hope that the commissioning of this facility will be an indication that as a people we are refocusing our attention to providing access to sanitation and hygiene”.