Tainso community shares drinking water with cattle

Correspondence from Bono Region

Tainso community is a farming community in the Wenchi Municipal Assembly in the Bono Region of Ghana.

Most of the farmers in this community are cashew farmers while few of them are into staple crops like maize and yam.

Ghanaweb's Regional Correspondent on Saturday, February 13, 2021, visited this community to engage the opinion leaders, including the Odikro of the community on their main issues of public interest.

Mr Stephen Ankomah, the Unit Committee Chairman of Tainso-Nyamebekyere Electoral Area disclosed that the major problem of the community has to do with the only river which serves as a source of drinking water to both human beings and animals.

This river serves a community of about two hundred residents here. During the dry season, people have to travel for a very long distance to Agubie with their motorbikes in order to get water for their daily activities.

Mr Baba Elija, a cashew farmer, who was at the river in the afternoon to fetch water indicated that he has to be there at that time in order to get 'clean' water before the cattle come there in the evening to drink the water. Mr Elija appealed to philanthropists and the various Non-Governmental Organizations to come to their aide.

Mrs Akosua Amina, a mother, who was there with her children were seen washing their clothes at the bank of the river. Mrs Amina complained that she had a swollen foot last year and later realised that it was due to the water she has been drinking from this river. 'I was infected with guinea worm when I visited the Wenchi Methodist Hospital but later have to resort to local herbs to deal with it', she said.

Mrs Adjei Naomi, the wife of the Odikro shared her ordeal on how she had skin disease after washing with the river. Mrs Naomi said she has to always apply lemon to the water before she washes down.

Mr Joseph Akinuana, an elder of the community lamented on how cattle have taken over their farmland; destroying their only source of water and farm produces as well. He called on the responsible authorities to ensure that these cattle are moved from their community.

The Tainso-Nyamebekyere community shares border with Tain Constituency at a town called Badu.