Turning Scarcity into Sustainability: The Story Behind ReliefEcho.

Joshua Taiwo Adefila Founder | ReliefEcho

Before establishing ReliefEcho a Ghana-based non-governmental organization dedicated to clean water, food, education, and sustainable community development projects - empowering vulnerable communities with dignity and resilience, Engr. Joshua Taiwo Adefila (Civil and Water Resources Engineer) led a transformative WASH and health initiative in the Atampintin and Adaboya Communities of the Bongo District, Upper East Region. Ghana. The project addressed chronic water scarcity and poor sanitation through innovative, community-driven solutions.

That experience revealed a powerful truth: when infrastructure meets local ownership, transformation flows naturally. Today, ReliefEcho builds on these proven models to expand sustainable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for underserved communities across Ghana and beyond.

From Scarcity to Sustainability

Under Joshua’s technical leadership, a mechanized solar-powered water supply system was designed and constructed to provide reliable access to clean water for both the community health facility and surrounding household. The system features a 12-cubic-meter elevated storage tank dedicated to the health facility and a 10-cubic-meter elevated tank serving the broader community.

The old handpump at the Atampintin Community-based Health Planning Service - CHPs (bottom left) and the newly mechanized solar-powered water system - serving both the CHPs (top right) and the community (top left) - under the WASH–Nutrition for Health Project at Atampintin Community, Bongo District. (photo credit: WaterAid - Ghana).

To enhance accessibility, the project include a standpipe with dual fetching spouts for the health staff quarters and six strategically located public fetching points across the community. In addition, piped water connections were extended to the maternity and outpatient department of the health care center, ensuring continuous water availability for critical health services

For the first time, clean water flowed through taps at points of care within the healthcare facilities completely eliminating the burden of fetching water with bucket or walking long distance to access it. This milestone brought safe and reliable drinking water to more than 2,450 people - especially pregnant women, lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and school children - transforming both healthcare delivery and daily living in the community.

To complement this effort, a seven-seater gender- and disability-inclusive bio-digester toilet and multiple handwashing stations were built to enhance hygiene, safety, and dignity for healthcare users.

The old urinal compartment (top left) and the newly constructed, gender- and disability-inclusive toilet facility (bottom right) under the WASH–Nutrition for Health Project at Atampintin Community, Bongo District. (photo credit: WaterAid - Ghana).

“Before these changes, mothers often had to bring their own water for delivery,” recalls a local midwife. “Now, we can care for mothers and babies with confidence.”

Health, Dignity, and New Possibilities

The improvements in water and sanitation quickly translated into broader impact — reduced infections, safer deliveries, and increased clinic attendance.

Ramatu Alhassan, - mother from the Atampintin community washing her hands at the Atampintin healthcare facility (photo credit: WaterAid - Ghana).

Women reclaimed the hours once spent walking long distances for water. Children attended school more regularly. Families used their time for farming and trade, strengthening both health and livelihoods.

The project also created local jobs for over 70 skilled and unskilled workers, including young artisans trained in plumbing, farming techniques, farm produce marketing, construction, and solar system installation — proving that WASH interventions can drive both social and economic growth.

Behavior Change That Lasts

Beyond infrastructure, the initiative prioritized behavioral change and hygiene education.

Through interactive community sessions — from handwashing demonstrations to local theatre — more than 1,200 residents learned practical ways to store water safely, maintain toilets, and reduce contamination risks.

Health volunteers turned every training into a celebration. Children played hygiene games and sang hygiene songs, families competed for the “cleanest household”, and leaders proudly maintained public handwashing stations.

These once-temporary lessons have evolved into daily habits — the true foundation of sustainable health.

Empowering Women at the Center of Change

A cornerstone of the project was women’s empowerment. Over 150 Female farmers were trained to cultivate irrigated vegetable gardens using water from the solar system.

Within just three weeks of the harvest cycle, the five women’s groups established under the WASH - Nutrition for Hygiene project collectively earned GHS 1,800 (approximately USD116) from the sale of their produce. Demonstrating true sustainability, they reinvested a portion of their profit into the operation and maintenance of the community water system and the purchase of new seeds for the next planting season.

Members of the five women’s groups during the WASH and Nutrition training session at Ganass, Bolgatanga – Upper East Region, building skills to promote healthy living and sustainable livelihoods in their communities - (photo credit: Josei Media).

“Now, we grow food, feed our families, and fund our own community projects,” says a women’s group leader.

This circular model — where agricultural and health infrastructure supports livelihoods that, in turn, sustain the infrastructure — now defines ReliefEcho’s integrated WASH-Nutrition approach.

Laying the Foundation for ReliefEcho’s Vision

These results were more than project outcomes; they became a blueprint for sustainable development.

Under Joshua’s guidance, the initiative demonstrated how technical design, community ownership, and local leadership can converge to solve long-standing challenges.

Today, ReliefEcho continues to scale this proven model — integrating clean water access, hygiene education, youth and women’s empowerment, and local governance into every project.

Every Drop Counts — And So Does Every Donor

The journey from thirst to transformation began with one community’s courage and one engineer’s vision with a highly motivated and supportive specialist team.

Now, ReliefEcho is expanding that impact — bringing dignity, opportunity, and clean water to those who need it most.

Reference Links:

• https://gna.org.gh/2024/06/project-to-promote-good-nutrition-and-hygiene-practices-begins-in-bongo/

• https://www.mylibertynews.com/nutrition-and-hygiene-begins-in-bongo/

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