Hand-Dug Wells in Ghana are an example of small scale, local,

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Sophie Brooker 9C.1 Geography

Hand-Dug Wells in Ghana are an example of small scale, local, sustainable development projects. Describe the advantages of this scheme

Hand-dug wells are an alternative to collecting muddy, diseased water a long way away. Here are some advantages of having this kind of access to this type of water:

  • Less time is spent collecting water from far away so people have more time on their hands. Children can go to school and receive education which means they can eventually get better jobs which could in the long-term help Ghana to develop. Adults can have more time on their hands. This may enable them to get a job and earn more money for their family which could improve the quality of their life. They could spend more time preparing food which may give the family a more balanced diet enabling them to live a long and healthy life. Young children can be looked after and if they are ill they have time to nurse them back to health. Without the journey to fetch water people feel much less tired giving them more energy for other things.
  • If there is access to clean water and diseases are not likely to be spread around, people are more likely to apply for jobs in the village. There may be more teachers in a school, so pupils receive more attention when learning. If a villager begins to employ people from elsewhere, he will be able to do more work therefore may be able to expand his business and make more money. Also, employees can inform others about that particular village, giving good publicity which may invite more work. Tourism may also develop in the village as tourists know they can be offered water which does not carry a threat.
  • In the water previously used by the villagers were risks of water diseases such as typhoid and cholera. Bacteria caused diarrhoea and tiny eggs that grew into worms inside you caused bilharzias and other infections. Now, with the hand-dug well villagers can access clean, safe water which does not carry disease. Families also do not have to spend lots of money on medicines so they have more opportunities to spend money on what they need.
  • The level of hygiene is increased as people have cleaner water to wash their clothes in and cleaner water to wash in.
  • Villagers are trained on how to look after the Well; this may improve their mechanical skills and make them feel as if they have a personal link with the Well. As the Well is made with the help of the villagers, they probably feel a sense of pride.
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Some People now believe that small projects are better for development. Why do you think that is? What groups of people may agree/disagree with this?

Some people now believe that small projects are better for development. This kind of small scale development benefits particular places and could eventually lead to helping a whole village. Benefiting villagers may give them a higher quality of life eg; hygienically, socially and professionally. Most small projects are backed by charities (eg Water Aid) from more developed parts of the world. They focus more on benefiting the locals rather than the whole country. ...

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