Santa 2G2 rallies old boys to fund GH¢4.6m Clean Water Hub project

The Adisadel College 2002 Year Group, also known as Santa 2G2, has launched its legacy project, the Clean Water Hub, an initiative aimed at providing reliable and sustainable water to more than 5,000 students and non-teaching staff on the school’s campus.

The project seeks to address the perennial water challenge at Adisadel College and forms part of a tradition established by the Adisadel Old Boys Association (AOBA), which requires year groups to undertake legacy projects 25 years after completing school.

For Santa 2G2, the Clean Water Hub is intended not only to ease the immediate water shortage but also to provide a long-term solution that improves sanitation, supports student welfare and creates a more conducive environment for learning.

Speaking at the project launch, fundraising event and unveiling of the anniversary logo, the Guest of Honour, Edmond Boateng, Honorary Consul of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to Ghana and Okyeman Amanonehene, urged members of the 2002 year group to participate actively, contribute to and take ownership of the project.

He said the initiative would require unity, transparency and determination from members to make it attainable.

The President of Santa 2002, Clint Yoosi Boa-Amponsem, said access to safe and reliable water was fundamental to human dignity, health and effective education.

He stressed that a school could not fully achieve its educational objectives when students and staff had inadequate access to clean water.

“But our vision goes beyond simply providing water,” he said. “We want this project to become a platform where water, education, sustainability and innovation come together.”

According to Boa-Amponsem, the concept is to establish a sustainable clean water facility that can meet the school’s needs while creating opportunities for students to learn about water conservation, environmental responsibility, sustainability and the responsible use of natural resources.

The Headmaster of Adisadel College, Samuel Agudogo, welcomed the Clean Water Hub project, describing it as a “timely intervention” that would go a long way towards addressing the water challenge on campus and improving learning activities.

A final-year student ambassador for the Clean Water Hub, Raphael Yaw Aseye Asamany, made an appeal to old boys, friends and alumni schools that participated in the event to support the initiative.

He said the scale of the problem was difficult to ignore, with more than 10 houses accommodating hundreds of students each.

“The struggle for water is real,” he said. “We need water to wash our clothes, clean our dormitories and bathrooms, and, most importantly, access clean water for drinking and basic hygiene.”

He added that the challenge extended beyond students to teachers, the Headmaster, other staff members and their families living on campus, putting the number of people affected at more than 5,000.

More than a water project

The significance of the Clean Water Hub extends beyond the installation of new water infrastructure. For a boarding school of Adisadel College’s size, a dependable water supply is closely linked to sanitation, public health, student welfare and the quality of the learning environment.

An unreliable water system can consume valuable time, disrupt daily routines and make basic hygiene more difficult. In a school where students live and learn on the same campus, the consequences can also be felt in dormitories, bathrooms, dining areas and other shared facilities.

The proposed sustainable water system therefore has the potential to reduce some of these pressures while giving the school greater control over a critical resource.

The project’s emphasis on solar power is particularly important. By reducing dependence on conventional electricity for pumping and water distribution, the system is designed to lower energy requirements and operating costs over time. It could also provide the school with a more resilient water supply in an environment where both water availability and energy costs can present challenges.

Just as importantly, the project provides an opportunity to turn the campus itself into a practical learning environment. Students can see first-hand how water is sourced, treated, stored and distributed while gaining a better understanding of conservation and the environmental cost of waste.

In that sense, the Clean Water Hub is designed to move the conversation from simply having enough water to managing water responsibly.

A GH¢4.6 million investment

The Clean Water Hub is a GH¢4.6 million investment built around a sustainable, solar-powered borehole network designed to meet 100 per cent of the school’s daily water demand.

The proposed system will comprise five boreholes serving as primary water sources, supported by a treatment process involving flocculation, filtration and chlorination before the water is stored and distributed across the campus.

The project is designed to operate on solar power, reducing energy consumption and improving its long-term sustainability.

With a stated capacity of 792 cubic metres of water per day, the system is also intended to provide capacity for the school’s future water requirements rather than merely addressing its current demand.

The fundraising campaign got off to a strong start at the launch, with GH¢650,000 raised through a combination of cash contributions and pledges towards the project. The amount represents an early contribution to the GH¢4.6 million target and signals support from old boys and partners for a project that the year group sees as a long-term investment in the school.

That future capacity is significant. A legacy project of this nature is expected to serve successive generations of students, meaning the value of the investment will ultimately depend not only on construction but also on effective maintenance, responsible water use and transparent management.

For Santa 2G2, the fundraising campaign is therefore the first major step towards turning the vision into functioning infrastructure.

117th anniversary logo unveiled

The project launch also witnessed the unveiling of Adisadel College’s 117th anniversary logo, ahead of the school’s anniversary and Speech Day celebrations next year.

The event brought together distinguished old boys of Adisadel College, friends, alumni schools and other partners, creating an occasion that combined fundraising with a celebration of the school’s enduring brotherhood.

For the 2002 year group, however, the more lasting measure of the occasion may be whether the Clean Water Hub can deliver what its name promises: a dependable water system that improves life on campus today while leaving future generations of Santaclausians with a stronger and more sustainable institution.

The project now enters its fundraising phase, with the year group calling on old boys, friends, corporate organisations and other partners to support the GH¢4.6 million initiative.