MONEYGRAM INTERNATIONAL PROVIDES BOREHOLES FOR ABUBOI IPAGE 35, JAN 13, 2011)

THE people of Asuboi, a farming community in the Offinso South District in the Ashanti Region, could not hide their feelings during the inauguration of two boreholes fitted with hand pumps provided for them by MoneyGram International.
It was the greatest gift ever handed over to the community, as both the aged and the young took to the floor to celebrate the occasion with music and dance.
On November 5, this year, after Kumasi-based Nhyira FM, a private radio station, had carried the plight of the people of Asuboi on a news bulletin concerning the outbreak of black flies infestation of their water source, MoneyGram and partner banks promised to provide the community with two boreholes that would provide the people with potable water.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, the MoneyGram Marketing Manager for Anglophone West Africa, Mr Gabriel Wilson, stressed the need for the people of Asuboi to adopt the culture of maintenance by taking good care of the boreholes so that they would have a longer lifespan.
“As we hand over these two boreholes, we would like to encourage the good people of Asuboi to maintain the investment for generations unborn to also benefit from the projects,” he reminded the people, and called on the Community Water and Sanitation Agency to assist the people to maintain them.
Mr Wilson called on media practitioners to hype more on rural dwellers and the development of communities, instead of paying attention to the developed areas.
Mr Ohene Tawia of Nhyira FM, who first brought the woes of the people to the fore, urged them to unite and be one another’s keeper.
He commended MoneyGram and its partner banks, Water Solutions, the Vector Control Unit and Zoomlion, which supplied chemicals to fight the black flies, for their prompt response to the distress call of the people of Asuboi.
Earlier in a welcoming address, Nana Frimpong Manso, the Asonahene of Asuboi, commended MoneyGram for the assistance to his people.
He used the opportunity to appeal to the telecommunication companies to build a mast in the area to enable the people to receive and send news outside.
“We have to climb trees to get telephone signals, which is not good enough, and we need the phone companies to construct masts here,” Nana Frimpong Manso said.