Role of Literacy In Sustainable Boreholes Provision – People Empowerment For Poverty Reduction

7/30/2019 Role of Literacy In Sustainable Boreholes Provision People Empowerment For Poverty Reduction

1/18

Developing Country Studies www.iiste.org

ISSN 2224-607X (Paper) ISSN 2225-0565 (Online)

Vol.3, No.4, 2013

1

Role of Literacy In Sustainable Boreholes Provision People

Empowerment For Poverty Reduction

Auckhinleck, Kwame AdowAtlantic International University, School of Social Studies, Hawaii, USA.

E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This study examines the role functional adult literacy played in empowering people to sustain boreholes provided

and for progressive reduction in poverty. For many governments in sub-Saharan Africa the bane of development

interventions is the lack of effective institutions and measures to ensure the sustainability of the vital and highlevel cost investments made. More so, when the critical mass of the beneficiary population are illiterate and would

need training to be able to effectively appreciate, understand, and acquire the rudimentary requisite skills to be

able to participate and implement sustainability strategies. The sample size for the study was 1,200 household

respondents drawn from 240 communities provided with boreholes selected by simple random sampling

technique. Primary data was collected from eight Districts through the use of quantitative and qualitative research

instruments. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS software. Findings included a 98.3% success rate of

literacy project implementation; 74.6% of respondents indicated literacy project contributing to their individualwell being; 85.1% indicated literacy project facilitated the availability of trained hand pump maintenance

technicians; 87.6% indicated the literacy project facilitated ownership of boreholes by communities; 73.0%

indicated literacy project contributing to community borehole sustainability; and, 73.3% of respondents could

relate the continual sustainability of boreholes to low level poverty in their communities. Thus, basic adult literacyfor the sustainability of boreholes is considered quintessential for continual improvement in the quality of human

lives and ultimately for reduction in poverty, and should be pursued.

Key words: Boreholes; Empowerment; Illiteracy; Literacy; Sustainability.

1. IntroductionAs at year 2008, UNESCO indicated that there was in existence over 774 million illiterate adults and youth.

By implication, about one in five adults as at then did not have access to written communication through literacy

to make them effectively functional in society. The obvious situation is that adult illiteracy has become a growing

problem despite efforts to eradicate it. To affirm the important role literacy plays in the development process the

United Nations Literacy Decade 2003-2012, was launched with the focus and vision as Literacy as Freedom and

Literacy for All. Among its priority population groups were illiterate youth and adults, especially women(UNESCO, 2008).

Bohla (1990), indicated that literacy had become a human rights issue and serves as a means of liberating

a peoples mind from the burden and bondage of ignorance and dependency to producing people of capacity,

capable, self-supporting and independent. He indicated further that literacy plays a central role in development

and though not always understood, there exists an inseparable beneficial relationship between literacy provision

and development. So the lack of literacy jeopardizes development efforts especially in rural communities indeveloping countries.

The way literacy is defined has changed over several decades. For example, literacy was considered

simply as the ability to read and write messages in the 1930s to 1940s. However, recent emphasis has been on the

effective applications of reading, writing and computational skills. Thus, the concept of literacy being functional

has eventually emerged to describe the application of basic reading, writing, computational skills, and links to

occupational livelihoods skills learning.

UNESCO defines literacy as: literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create,

communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves

a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals in life, develop their knowledge and

potential and participate fully in community and wider society (UNESCO, 2005:21). The empowerment aspect of

literacy has also been recognized because it paves the way for knowledge acquisition, building self-confidence and

self-esteem, and with increased awareness created, individuals, households and communities behaviors are

influenced positively for development (UNESCO, 2008).

In some countries illiteracy is regarded as a barrier preventing the poor from improving their lives, while in

others illiteracy is regarded as one of the major causes and determinants of poverty (UNESCO, 2008). The

indication worldwide is that as a country develops, illiteracy generally declines when more children enroll in

school. However, in rural areas and among deprived population groups high illiteracy rates often persist as access

to education is limited. Many people believe outlays towards literacy provision are a waste of national resources


2/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

2

and such funds should be invested in expanding and providing quality education to the current school-age

population. However if adult illiteracy is not addressed over a period of time the literate-illiterate population

disparity continue to grow and negatively affect incomes as large deprived groups persistently fall into extreme

poverty levels (World Bank, 2010a; Adow, 1993).To the United Nations, the continual existence of adults in countries constitute a major problem to

advancing development, retards development initiatives, and in many instances poses great risk to national

stability and security, fostering rebels in developing countries who do not understand and appreciate the values of

democratic governance, as well as the abuse, misuse and misguidance of the illiterate population by politicians

when campaigning for political power. Thus, by declaring 1990 as the International Literacy Year (ILY), the

United Nations General Assembly by its Resolution no.42/104 of 1987 completely and emphatically endorsed theideology and theoretical basis for promoting literacy as a development instrument and means of setting free

masses of people from mental bondage and limitations to a parochial world view due to lack of basic capacity to

read, write, calculate and acquire occupational skills. Without a country improving the literacy of its population,

there cannot be accelerated development, and if not improved, illiteracy causes reversals of gains in national

development due to lack of know-how and sustainable capacity of the mass of illiterates as compared to fewer

literates (UNESCO, 2006; Bohla, 1990).The inability to read, write, and count limits effective participation in the labor market and also seriously

limits sustainability of programs, for instance, the operation and maintenance of potable water infrastructure suchas boreholes (Fisher, 2011; Fosenka, 2008). It has also been indicated in other studies that literate adults are more

effective workers. This applies both to workers in wage jobs and to the large majority of women and men who are

employed through the informal sector (McKay & Aryeetey, 2007; Aryeetey & Kwakye, 2005).The inability of people to read, write and compute limits their capacity to engage effectively in development

activities. Providing literacy promotes enhancement of community solidarity and collective capacity to work with

development partners to improve their well being and reduce poverty (Carey, 2002). Literacy is therefore one of

the major universal issues linked with reduction in poverty, creating wealth and growth in national economies, so

the literacy competence of a population is quintessential to economic development of countries. Literacy

empowers and facilitates freedoms utilization to redress and ensure consistent emergence from poverty (UNESCO,2008; UNDP, 1997).

When poverty combines with illiteracy it deprives people of essential knowledge, capacity and

capabilities, as well as robbing them of dignity, confidence, and self-respect (World Bank, 2006; Nussbaum, 2005).

All these lead to the lack of capacity and capability to command resources to meet ones basic needs and enablethem live in dignity. Literacy provision therefore constitute a major element in the human development nexus,

especially as specifically related to ensuring the emergence of the masses from poverty and their ability to helpsustain reduction in poverty consistently. Thus, adult literacy provision should help to reduce basic deprivations in

choices and opportunities (Sachs, 2005).

In Ghana the efforts to reduce illiteracy, especially in rural areas and among the poor and socially

excluded date back to the post-colonial era. Starting in the 1950s, the independent government introduced mass

literacy campaigns but success was limited. The reasons for the poor performance were primarily due to supply

driven approaches without participant interest, poor links to occupational and civic needs, and ineffective teachingmethodologies (Aoki, 2006; Adow, 1993). Also another objective of Ghanas adult literacy program was to

develop the nations manpower base for the implementation of the post-colonial Accelerated Development Plan

(Community of Learning, 2005).

Eradicating illiteracy was declared a national priority in 1991and the Non-Formal Education Division

(NFED) was established as the institution mandated under the Ministry of Education to implement adult literacyprograms in Ghana. The goal was to eliminate illiteracy among the 5.6 million illiterates by the year 2015 (World

Bank, 2010a; Owusu-Boampong, 2007; Owusu-Mensah, 2007). Therefore peoples empowerment for self-

development through adult literacy promotion became a major pathway employed by the Government of Ghana to

reduce poverty (Aryeetey and Kwakye, 2005; World Vision Ghana, 2003).

The NFED developed the inception phase to the National Functional Literacy Program (NFLP I) with the

main objective to improve economic opportunities and quality of life for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged

Ghanaians. By the end of that phase a large adult literacy program had been developed including a nationwide

infrastructure for implementation. The Ghana National Functional Literacy Project Phase 2 (NFLP II) was

designed as a follow-up to the first phase of the project organized from 1992-97, taking into account the challenges

of the previous program and sector level constraints encountered (World Bank, 2010a). The objective of the NFLP

II was consistent with the governments Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy (2000-02) which focused on poor

peoples capacity to earn incomes to improve the quality of lives and promote reduction in poverty. In the

Government of Ghanas Poverty Reduction Strategy (2006-09) the priority of improving literacy rates remained.One of the objectives of the NFLP II was to pilot 500 English Adult Literacy Classes (World Bank, 2010a). This

was substantially achieved with a major contribution made by World Vision Ghana.


3/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

3

2. Issues Trends In Adult Literacy Delivery In Ghana

Under the World Vision Ghana Rural Water Project Phase III (1996 to 2003), the target was to drill 600 wet wells

for 300 communities in the Greater Afram Plains areas of the Eastern, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions of Ghana.Training was to be organized for 570 borehole hand-pump maintenance and repair technicians to ensure

sustainability of the boreholes in beneficiary communities. To ensure continual potable water availability and

consistent boreholes patronage to eradicate waterborne/related diseases, especially guinea worm, six thousand

(6,000) illiterate members of institutions relating to the management of the boreholes at the community level, such

as, Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) Committee members, Womens groups, and Pump Maintenance Technicians

(PMTs) were to be put through literacy classes. The objective was to build their capacity to handle boreholessustainability issues in the communities after programs phase-out, with the long-term objective of empowering

them to take hold of their future to reduce poverty in the study area (World Vision Ghana GRWP, 2003).

A survey conducted in 1999 revealed a total of 5,923 non-literate members of local institutions formed in

rural communities in the eight districts where World Vision was operating. It was thus imperative that proactive

steps have to be taken to redress the situation to guarantee the sustainability of the boreholes investments made.

World Vision therefore requested the NFED to provide a functional English literacy project for beneficiaries of itsWater and Sanitation Program where the eight Districts were located so as to meet the objective of ensuring

sustainability of the borehole investments made in the Greater Afram Plains.Due to the multiplicity of ethnic groups with varied dialects in the Greater Afram Plains, World Vision

recommended a functional English Literacy Project instead of several vernacular literacy classes, which the NFED

accepted. It was also emphasized that the learners would benefit most because of English being a universallanguage. More importantly, literacy of borehole hand-pump parts must be in English because the hand-pump

parts have no names in the local dialects. By March 2003, in collaboration with the NFED, as shown in Table 1,

7,699 learners were enrolled in adult English literacy classes, facilitated by 270 trained Literacy Facilitators in 202

rural communities. The specific aim was to build the capacity of the Learners to read and write, acquire numeracy

skills, and also to enable them monitor and repair the boreholes provided in their communities to promote

sustainable boreholes for gradual reduction in poverty (World Vision Ghana, 2004).The typical characteristics of several adult literacy projects globally has been the failure to produce

outcomes expected, high drop-out rates, low patronage and low completion rates (Carey, 2002). Despite that grave

scenario, out of the number of 7,699 enrolled in the World Vision Literacy Project, 7,565 successfully completed

the classes in 24 months. Out of the number who successfully completed, 51.1% were males, and 48.9% werefemales. World Vision exceeded its target by a margin of 1,565 (26.1%) due to more teaching and learning

logistics, and project monitoring support provided by the NFED to enable more classes to be established to meetthe high demand in the communities (World Vision Ghana, 2004). This study therefore examines the role the

World Vision Literacy Project specifically played in empowering the local rural population to sustain boreholes

provided towards reduction in poverty in their households and communities.


4/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

4

3. Methodology

For this study the population of interest was drawn from rural communities in eight districts where World Vision

Ghana Rural Water Project drilled 1,146 boreholes in 740 communities in eight Districts in three Regions from

1990 to 2003. The sampling frame was thus based on the database of boreholes drilled (World Vision, 2003). The

probability sampling technique was employed to obtain the sample needed for the study.This technique allowed

for each individual unit in the population universe to have a chance or probability of being included in the sample(Guiseppe, 2006; Krueger & Neuman, 2006). Specifically, the probability technique - Simple Random Sample

(SRS), was used to select the samples (communities and respondents) for this study. Two hundred and forty (240)


5/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

5

communities, representing 32.0% of communities with boreholes (Program communities) were sampled for this

study. Five household respondents were selected from each program community to arrive at a respondents sample

size of 1,200.

Primary data were collected from communities sampled using a mixed approach of quantitative andqualitative data collection methods. Information were collected on the situation before and after boreholes were

provided in terms of the sources of water, the availability and access to potable water, the capacity for engaging in

livelihoods occupations, health issues, hygiene practices, and issues relating to potable water security assurance

through boreholes governance measures and practices towards sustainability, including the functional adult literacy

project implementation. Information were also accessed from secondary sources to facilitate the discussions.

Questions were structured with responses in basic Yes or No formats for the quantitative. Thequantitative data were analyzed through the use of SPSS computer-based analysis applications to generate the

results. Qualitative information gathered was analyzed by Content analysis methods to triangulate and also

complement quantitative results. The unit of analysis was households. Non-parametric data analysis methods,

especially descriptive statistics were employed to analyze the data, and EXCEL spreadsheets tools used to depict

the results graphically.

3.1 Conceptual /Theoretical Framework

The functional adult English literacy project for promoting sustainable boreholes provision aims at theempowerment of community people. One significant purpose that should be achieved was building local capacity

of the local population in a community to be able to sustain all investments made in the boreholes provided to be

able to sustain gains made in health and time availability and its use to reduce poverty.The conceptual model is as captured in Figure 1, shows the inter-relationships between adult literacy

implementation after boreholes provision for people empowerment for poverty reduction which involves: (1)

Boreholes provided in rural communities to meet basic potable water needs. (2) WATSAN Committee (borehole

oversight institution) formed and trained. (3)WATSAN Committees empowered to select local people to be trained

as borehole hand-pump maintenance technicians (PMTs) for their communities. (4) Illiterate members of

WATSAN Committees, illiterate PMTs and members of Womens groups enrolled in Literacy classes learn moreabout borehole hand-pump maintenance and repairs to sustain quality of life through consistent boreholes

patronage. (5) WATSAN Committee members and PMTs enrolled in Literacy classes are able to identify hand-

pump parts by name and able to purchase the right hand-pump parts for borehole repairs. (6) Potable water

security assurance with beneficial outcomes as: United Nations and World Health Organizations waterrequirement of 20 litres per person a day met; guarantees eradication of water borne/related diseases; promotes

personal hygiene and health; promotes environmental hygiene; saves community folks time from water hunting;time savings from water hunting used for economic activities to create wealth; prevents relapse by community

members to patronize surface water sources infested with waterborne/related diseases, especially guinea worm.

The theoretical framework as presented in Figure 2 shows the theory of change depicting the role adult

literacy plays in the sustainable boreholes provision to empower people towards gradual reduction in poverty. In

Figure 2 the INPUTS show as: boreholes provision in rural communities; boreholes sustainability institutions and

practices established for assurance of potable water availability all year round in the form of technical, social,financial, institutional, and environmental sustainability.

The PROCESS employed is the establishment of 270 functional adult English literacy classes in 202 rural

communities. The OUTPUTS were: community ownership of boreholes leading to effective boreholes operation,

maintenance and repairs supervised by WATSAN Committees; pool of people literate about boreholes created and

can be tapped for training as hand-pump technicians; community populations experience very good health andtime gains utilization due to continual potable water availability. The OUTCOMES were: water security assurance

which has resulted in all year round availability of potable water as indicated by the ability to engage in

occupational livelihoods consistently without being side tracked by trekking in search of water; improved and high

labor productivity from time gains applications on occupational livelihoods activities; high returns from

occupational livelihoods engagements; economic empowerment investments in livelihood occupations generating

incomes and progressive wealth creation in households; human dignity regained and valued as a result of continual

improvements in individual and household well being. The IMPACTS were: very strong economic capacity

established leading to progressive wealth creation; improved quality of life; emergence from poverty; progressive

reduction in poverty; decent living and restoration of human dignity; human capability improvements; and,

financial capacity to contribute towards borehole sustainability and also to meet basic household needs.


6/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

6

Figure 1: Conceptual framework - Inter-relationships between Adult Literacy implementation after

boreholes provision for people empowerment for poverty reduction

Source: Authors Construct

3. WATSAN Committeeempowered to select

borehole hand-pump

maintenance technicians

(PMTs) to be trained for

theircommunities.

- Training of WATSAN

Committee members and

PMTs in boreholesmanagement principles

and practices.

6. Potable water security

assurance, with following

benefits:

- Meets UN water

requirement of 20 litres

per person a day.

- Guarantees eradication of

water borne/related

diseases.

- Promotes personal

hygiene and health.

- Promotes environmental

hygiene

- Saves community folks

time from water hunting

- Time savings from water

hunting used for economic

activities to create wealth.

- Prevents relapse by

community members to

4. Illiterate members of

WATSAN Committee and

illiterate PMTs and

members of Womens

groups enrolled in Literacy

Classes learn more about

borehole hand-pump

maintenance and repairs to

improve and sustain quality

of life.

1.Boreholes provided

in rural communities.

Borehole sustainability

through patronage of

adult literacyclasses.

2. WATSAN Committee (borehole oversight

institutions) formed and

trained.

5. WATSAN Committee

members and PMTs

enrolled in Literacy Classes

are now able to identify

hand-pump parts by name

and able to purchase the

right hand-pump parts for

borehole repairs.

-Regular borehole

maintenance and repairs.


7/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

7


8/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

8

4. Results

As depicted in Figure 3, 56.5% of respondents in this study indicated they have ever attended school, while 43.5%

indicated they have not. The literacy in the study area has serious implications for borehole sustainability towards

potable water availability and cultivating the culture of borehole ownership, maintenance and repairs.

Figure 3: Ever attended school

Source: Field work 2006

The literacy status of respondents as depicted in Figure 4 shows 52.5% indication that they could neither read norwrite. 41.2% of respondents could read and write, while 3.8% could only read and 2.5% could only write. This

reveals that even despite the literacy project a high number of people in the study area are still illiterate and much

effort has to be made to get them literate by the NFED organizing more literacy classes on a continual basis. This

will help people appreciate better the need to sustain the boreholes provided.

Figure 4: Literacy Status

Source: Field work, 2006

In this study, 80.3% of respondents indicated their main occupation as farming. Sustainable potable water

availability therefore positively impacts their time and health and by implication boreholes sustainability should bea core concern to them as farmers. Getting level headed through effective participation in the literacy project also

enabled them better know the need to collectively own and sustain their boreholes.

In Figure 5, 89.5% of respondents indicated their household members having low incomes before the provision

of boreholes in their community. This was due to the extensive trekking in search of water which deprived them

of the time to engage in income earning livelihood activities. Also many household members were incapacitated

by water borne/related diseases such as guinea worm and diarrhea and thus poor health prevented them fromengaging in activities to earn income. This condition entrenched them in opportunistic and occupational poverty.

However, through the literacy project they are better able to appreciate the essence of borehole sustainability for

continual supply of potable water for their economic empowerment and gradual emergence from poverty.

Series1, Yes, 56.5%

Series1, No, 43.5%

Series

1,

Read,

3.8%,

4%

Series1, Write,

2.5%, 2%

Series1, Both,

41.2%, 41%

Series1, Neither,52.5%, 53%

Read Write Both Neither


9/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

9

Figure 5: Household members having low incomes before the provision of boreholes

Source: Fieldwork, 2006As depicted in Figure 6, 84.7% of respondents indicated awareness of direct linkage between household water

security and the ability of their households to generate income all year round. Their ability to earn income from

their occupational livelihoods facilitated emergence out of poverty in their households and reduction of poverty

progressively. It is now known that engaging in the literacy project enabled them to understand the endless

possibilities for emergence out of poverty through boreholes provision.

Figure 6: Water Security and the ability of households to generate income all year round

Source: Fieldwork, 2006As shown in Figure 7, responses from 74.6% of respondents indicated that the literacy project contributed to the

well being of their households. With the knowledge gained from the literacy classes they indicated their new role

as guardians for the effective operation and maintenance of the boreholes in their community, which saves them

much time to engage in occupations to earn income to meet their basic needs.

Figure 7: Literacy project contributing to households well being

Source: Fieldwork, 2006As depicted in Figure 8, 84.8% of respondents indicated boreholes provision being an intentional effort of

eradicating illiteracy and poverty due to the high impact implementation of the functional literacy classes. This,

they believe was to empower communities to enable them operate, maintain and repair the boreholes, and which

support people to attend to their occupational livelihoods. They indicated adult literacy also facilitates childrensschool participation, as the adults now better appreciate and value education and support their children to be

regular at school to be able to move to the tertiary levels.

Series1, Yes, 89.5%

Series1, No, 9.3%

Series1, Don't

Know, 1.2%

Series1, Yes,

84.7%, 85%

Series1, No,

6.3%, 6%

Series1, Don't

Know, 9.0%, 9%

Yes No Don't Know

Series1, Yes, 74.6%

Series1, No, 6.8%

Series1, Don't

Know, 18.6%


10/18


11/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

11

The present and long-term sustainability of the boreholes depend on training and occasional re-training of the

Pump Maintenance Technicians. Generational training has been a key element in the trainings organized in

communities provided with boreholes. As shown in Figure 11, 85.1% of respondents indicated that the Literacy

project has facilitated effective community level borehole operation, and maintenance. In effect, the Literacyproject created a pool of available persons who are members of the communities borehole sustainability

institutions established and therefore trainable and available for capacity building.

Figure 11: Literacy Project facilitated effective community borehole operation and maintenance

Source: Fieldwork, 2006As shown in Figure 12, 96.5% respondents considered borehole sustainability as key to sustainable quality

livelihoods in their households. This appreciation flows from insight gained into boreholes operation and

maintenance built into the Literacy curriculum and emphasized by the literacy facilitators.

Figure 12: Seeing borehole sustainability as key to sustainable quality livelihoods of households

Source: Fieldwork, 2006

Figure 13 depicts 87.6% of respondents indicating that the Literacy Project has facilitated community ownership

of boreholes provided. This is an indicator of high level awareness and acceptance of responsibility for borehole

maintenance for long-term sustainability.

Figure 13: Literacy Project has facilitated Community Ownership of boreholes


Figure 14 shows a 73.0% response rate indicating that the literacy project was contributing to borehole

sustainability. As many participants in the Literacy Project made themselves available to be trained as hand pump

technicians and others also monitored the operation of the boreholes, they recognized and reported anymalfunctioning or faults they noticed to the WATSAN Committees for immediate redress.

Series1, Yes, 85.1%

Series1, No, 5.9%

Series1, Don't

Know, 9.0%

Series1, Yes, 96.5%

Series1, No, 3.5%

Series2,

Community, 87.6%

Series2, World

Vision, 10.8% Series2, District

Assembly, 0.4%

Series2, Traditional

Authority, 0.9%

Series2, The

Church, 0.3%


12/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

12

Figure 14: Literacy project contributing to community borehole sustainability

Source: Fieldwork, 2006As many as 73.3% of respondents were able to relate the presence of boreholes to low level poverty in their

households, as shown in Figure 15. This indicates their high level awareness of transformational change in theirlives.

Figure 15: Relating the continual availability of potable water from boreholes to low level poverty

Source: Fieldwork, 2006Figure 16 shows 90.8% of respondents indicating that their community borehole as currently working, as at the

time of the survey. This is a practical evidence of community ownership and a key sustainability indicator. Much

of this can be attributed to the effectiveness of the literacy classes in which participants indicated they participated.

Figure 16: Community borehole currently working


As shown in Figure 17, 89.2% of respondents indicated the availability of potable water from boreholes providedall year round in their households. This, they indicated was due to the great awareness gained from the literacy

classes and the effective work done on the boreholes by the Pump Maintenance Technicians and effectivemonitoring of boreholes performance by the WATSAN Committees to support boreholes sustainability to foster

their emergence from poverty and gradual reduction of poverty from their households.

Series1, Yes, 73.0%

Series1, No, 6.8%

Series1, Don't Know,

20.2%

Series1, Low level,

73.3%

Series1, High level,

26.7%

Series1, Yes, 90.8%

Series1, No, 9.2%


13/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

13

Figure 17: Availability of potable water from borehole all year round in households


From the qualitative information gathered in this study, it was further revealed that the Literacy project impacted

the beneficiary communities in multiple ways. For instance, borehole hand-pump maintenance and repairtechnicians were now able to identify pump parts by name and purchase them for repair work on community

boreholes. This has promoted the availability of potable water all year round. Thus, water security was guaranteed

in all the project communities.

In terms of social impact, it has fostered social cohesion in and among communities. There is a more peaceful

environment and it is now easier to call for community meetings to plan and implement community development

interventions. Increased disposable household incomes through regained health and time savings invested inincome earning livelihoods were related as economic gains made as a result of the continuous availability of water

from the boreholes. This also enabled funds contributions to facilitate prompt repairs of boreholes in the

communities.

Beneficiaries of the Literacy project were able to help their children understand and carry out their school

home assignments. Beneficiaries also felt so much empowered and expressed much gratitude for being liberatedfrom limited life options and choices due to illiteracy. The civic and development inertia in communities prior to

boreholes provision has given way to dynamic and proactive participation in community development activities.Very high patronage of the literacy classes was recorded and the demand for the next phase was very high.

5. Discussions

Lind, in her article in the Springer, offers personal reflections on literacy programs to adults. With over thirty yearsfield experience relating to literacy provision for adults she indicated that a Literacy program should not be

considered a failure due to fifty per cent of learners drop out. Instead she considers such a Literacy program a

success if 50% of learners stayed on and acquired the necessary skills to be able to read, write and compute (Lind,

2008a). The results from this study however indicated a 98.3% success or participation rate which greatly exceeds

Linds criterion.

As to what should be the basic aim of literacy delivery there exist several schools of thought. One schoolproposes mass education to eradicate illiteracy and improve human well-being. Another proposes project-specific

solutions to empower community people for sustainability of programs implemented in those communities and

also improvement in the quality of life (Prahalad, 2010; Lind, 2008b; Adow, 1993). In Ghanas experience, themass delivery of adult literacy approach employed in the 1950s failed, but this study discovered that the Project-

specific delivery approach used by World Vision succeeded excellently.To another school of thought, financing adult literacy programs is a waste of resources and prefers such

investment be channeled into basic education delivery (Bornstein, 2007; Payne, 2007; Adow, 1993). However this

study shows that functional adult literacy can also be a catalyst to foster income earnings from occupations

through building the needed capacity to sustain boreholes

In the World Vision literacy project what kept learners in classes for most of the twenty-four months were:

personal interest; having community class mates created social cohesion which could be tapped into forcommunity mobilization for development; also the novelty and excitement about the project created community

buy-in and enthusiasm; learning English to be empowered was a critical social status for those who missed-out on

formal education; and, the literacy project served as opportunity and potential for accessing higher education. All

these were critical success factors which motivated many of the learners to participate and complete the 24 months

project duration (World Vision Ghana, 2004).The teaching and learning approach adopted in implementing the project was also a key contributory

Series1, Yes, 89.2%

Series1, No, 10.8%


14/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

14

factor for its success. These included the use of context appropriate primers which allowed a learner to catch-up

even when he/she missed classes for some few days. Class registers were marked at each attendance and the

importance of continual attendance stressed. The Facilitator lived in the community and encouraged learners not to

fall behind. Training and learners logistics, incentives in the form of gifts-in-kind protective clothing for learnersand facilitators, as well as bicycles purchased for each facilitator were rare motivators provided to support the

project (World Vision Ghana, 2004).

According to Senge and Sachs, postulating that economic growth singularly resolves the challenges of

poverty is a basic fallacy. Should that even be the case, economic growth should be proactively induced. For

instance, intentionally empowering rural inhabitants through literacy projects to sustain boreholes to guarantee the

continual availability of potable water in rural communities for progressive reduction in poverty (Senge, 2008;Sachs, 2005).

In this study, sustainability is used to imply the continual performance or not, of a borehole over a

period of time. This further implies that for a borehole, there is continuous flow of water over its lifespan as

originally designed, in terms of quantity and quality, and indicating that during its lifespan the borehole has not

dysfunctioned to warrant complete rehabilitation (Abrams, 2011; Koestler and Koestler, 2008; Fosenka, 2008).

Studies conducted by Montgomery and others have indicated that the large percentage of non-functioningboreholes in Africa depicts the lack of adequate repairs and maintenance and the unavailability of institutions to

ensure rural communities have boreholes sustainability. As an example, eleven countries surveyed in Africa southof the Sahara revealed that 35-80% of facilities provided to serve potable water as being operative (Montgomery,

et al, 2009). However, a study in South Africa indicated seventy per cent of Eastern Cape boreholes inoperative.

Another survey of seven thousand boreholes and wells indicated about 45.0% functional in Tanzania. Meanwhileonly ten per cent of the water facilities provided twenty-five years and over were operative (World Bank, 2010b).

In this study it was noted that the philosophy undergirding boreholes provision was to get some of the illiterate

population literate through the literacy project to enable them be custodians and effective managers of the

boreholes.

As Harvey and Reed have indicated a non-functioning hand pump is a stark symbol of unfulfilled

expectations and unchanging poverty (Harvey & Reed, 2004:84). By implication, wherever boreholes arefunctioning consistently over a long haul in rural communities, there must be obvious evidence of progressive

poverty reduction. Thus, functional adult literacy is quintessential for the sustainability of potable water

infrastructure, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank, 2010b; UNESCO 2005). This study found out that

the proactive introduction of the literacy project forestalled the tragic findings as indicated by Montgomery andothers.

This study further revealed that the sustainability of boreholes was a high priority for implementing theliteracy project as indicated by 88.7% of respondents. Otherwise for lack of knowledge of the names of borehole

hand-pump parts, spare parts could not have been purchased by inhabitants of rural communities and broken down

boreholes could not have been repaired. This would have led to communities resorting to patronizing their polluted

traditional surface water sources infested with guinea worm, and which incapacitated them physically and

prevented them from engaging in productive occupational livelihoods and could draw them back into opportunistic

and occupational poverty (Mba & Kwankye, 2007; Jamison, et, al, 2006). Conversely, with support of the Literacyclasses, hand pump parts are known by name and could be easily sought for and purchased in local shops for the

repair of boreholes as indicated by 85.1% of respondents in this study.

Comparative analysis estimates indicate that as at 2006, 60.2% of hand pumps fixed on boreholes in

Nigeria were non-functioning. The main reason assigned for these hand pump failures was lack of maintenance of

the hand pumps after installation. So with continued usage, serious wear and tear occurred until they finallyceased functioning (Eduvie, 2006). In this study however, 85.1% of respondents surveyed gave indication that the

Literacy project facilitated the availability of Pump Maintenance Technicians in their communities. Therefore

boreholes were promptly repaired by the trained Pump Maintenance Technicians when they become dysfunctional.

This has helped to prevent people from reverting to old sources of surface water and resulting in sustained

reduction in poverty in the study area.

It has been noted that poverty reduction can be a reality through the implementation of functional adult

literacy projects for poor people. Such projects help learners/participants through the strengthening of their

occupational skills and the capacity to earn income and also build their capabilities (McKay & Aryeetey, 2007;

Aoki, 2006; UNESCO, 2006). As indicated in both the conceptual and theoretical framework (Figures 1&2) in this

study, it was noted that as learners acquired communication skills both orally and in writing they were better

informed about water-borne/related diseases and the associated health-related problems leading to incapacitation

and poverty as indicated also by other studies (Bartram, 2008; Pruss-Ustun, et al,2008).

Learners became aware of how productive they have become due to effective utilization of time gains asa result of the continual operation of the boreholes in their communities. This allowed for increased income,

improved quality of life, emergence from poverty, and progressive reduction in poverty (Blackden & Wodon, 2006;


15/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

15

La Frenierre, 2009). These experiences served as motivation for community ownership of boreholes and

assumption of sustainability responsibilities on a continual basis.

6.0 ConclusionsAs explained in the conceptual theoretical frameworks, the prime objective in the World Vision Ghana Literacy

Project was to empower learners in communities for the sustainability of boreholes provided in the rural

communities so that people did not relapse to former status of poverty due to the prevalence of water borne

diseases, especially guinea worm. Secondly, for gaining of freedoms, for instance, time savings made from

trekking extensively in search of water used for participating in Literacy classes for gaining knowledge, and to

become effective and useful citizens. Thirdly, also as indicated by Mc Caffery, for mobilization, planning andimplementation of community development plans; and freedoms gained which express and manifests increase in

lifes choices and options and improved quality of life (McCaffery, 2007).

To these rural communities therefore, sustaining their boreholes is an essential factor in their daily lives.

They would go to any length (including patronage of Literacy classes) to ensure their boreholes function all year

round because they have become highly aware of the essence of water security assurance for individuals,

households and the fostering of community well-being.The objectives of an adult literacy program thus became two-edged. First, for personal development; and

second, for empowerment to facilitate emergence out of poverty and gradual reduction in poverty. The personaldevelopment objective focused more on individual development, and thus, literacy acquisition was viewed as a

skill that would eventually enable the adult to make progress in his/her life. The empowerment objective increased

communitys ability to take control of their destiny and thus positioned them to be less susceptible toenvironmental vulnerabilities entrenching them in poverty (Fisher, 2011; Ademiluyi & Odugbesan, 2008).

In terms of innovation and example of peoples empowerment and development practice, the following

results have been documented for policy formulation the World Vision Ghana Literacy Project influenced

national Adult English Literacy policy formulation and the development and use of appropriate Primers.

Community mobilization strategies were employed to mobilize learners and enrolled 7,699 Learners for the Adult

English Literacy Project, out of which a record 98.3% (7,565 learners) completed the learning cycle in 24 months.Communities receptivity to the English Adult Literacy Project was very high and exceeded expectations.

Learner/participants indicated that they have been empowered beyond their expectations. The demand for the

program is still very high. In terms of well being, 74.6% of respondents indicated the literacy project had

contributed to their individual well being; 85.1% indicated the literacy project had facilitated the availability oftrained hand pump maintenance technicians; 87.6% indicated the literacy project has facilitated ownership of

boreholes by communities; 73.0% indicated the literacy project as contributing to community boreholesustainability; and, 73.3% of respondents could relate the continual sustainability of boreholes to low level poverty

in their communities.

From the fore-going discussions the policy implications the study identified are that: functional literacy

projects that empower households in rural communities to sustain development infrastructure (such as boreholes

provided) should be a continuous post-program-support built into program design in order to ensure the

sustainability of poverty reduction programs. NFEDs capacity needs strengthening and it needs to collaboratewith other literacy providers. NFED was the main provider of adult literacy in Ghana but the community of able

non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is growing. Therefore, there is the need for NFED to look out and

establish very strong partnerships with such NGOs to help deliver on its objectives to achieve effective nation-

wide coverage of adult literacy progressively.

Adult literacy promotes transformational development in human lives and it being a major humandevelopment and crucial poverty reduction factor, as much as possible, many people should be given the

opportunity in their lifetime to participate in literacy projects. Thus, the onus is on every national Government to

recognize this salient fact and plan proactively to redress the challenge of illiteracy in their countries on a

continual basis. This step will also go a long way to facilitate the attainment of the Millennium Development

Goals.

References

Abrams, L. ( 2011). Understanding Sustainability of Local Water Services. The African Water Page:

http://www.africanwater.org/sustainability.htm

Ademiluyi, I.A., Odugbesan, J.A. (2008). Sustainability and Impact of community water supply and sanitation

programmes in Nigeria: An Overview. Africa Journal of Agricultural Research Vol.3 (12), pp.811-817,

December, 2008.

Adow, K.A., (1993).Population Growth And Primary School Education In Ghana.Unpublished Masters Thesis,University of Ghana, 1993. Cited in Ghana Statistical Service Population Data Analysis Report, Volume 1:

Socio-Economic and Demographic Trends, 2005.


16/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

16

Aoki, A. (2006). Research on Learning Achievements and Development Impact of Adult Education: The Case of

Ghanas National Functional Literacy Program. Dissertation. Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Aryeetey, E., Kwakye, E., (2005). Policy Case Study: Functional Literacy: National Functional Program (NFLP II)

in Ghana. July, 2005. Addis Abba.Bartram, J. (2008). Flowing Away: water and health opportunities. Bulletin of the World Health Organization,

January 2008, 86(1). WHO, Geneva, Switzerland.

Blackden, M.C., and Wodon, Q. (2006). Gender, Time Use And Poverty In Sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank

Working Paper No. 73.World Bank, Washington, DC.

Bohla, H.S. (1990). An Overview of Literacy in Sub-Sahara Africa Images in the Making. African Studies

Review, vol.33 No.3. pp. 5-20.Bornstein, D. (2007). How to Change the World Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas. Updated

Edition. Oxford University Press, New York.

Carey, T. (2002). Literacy pulls people out of poverty. In Education highlights, Institute of Development Studies

(IDS) 2005. University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.

Commonwealth of Learning (2005). Literacy And Livelihoods: Learning For Life In A Changing world.

Published by Commonwealth of Learning, Vancouver, Canada.Eduvie, M.O, (2006). Borehole failures and groundwater development in Nigeria. Water Africa Exhibition, Lagos,

Nigeria.Fisher, J (2011). Operation and Maintenance for Rural Water Service. WELL Briefing Note 15. Water Engineering

and Development Centre (WEDC), Loughborough University, Leicestershire, UK.

Fosenka, H.P.S.S (2008). Rural Water Supply sustainability And Impact. Access To Sanitation And Safe Water:Global Partnerships And Local Actions. 33

rdWEDC International Conference, Accra, Ghana, 2008.

Guiseppe, I (2006). The Power of Survey Design. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development /

The World Bank, Washington, DC.

Harvey, PA, Reed, RA (2004), Rural Water Supply In Africa: Building Blocks For Handpump Sustainability.

WEDC, Loughborough University, U.K.

Jamison, DT, Breman, JG, Measham, AR (2006). Disease Control in Developing Countries: Chapter 41: WaterSupply, Sanitation, and Hygiene Promotion, Sandy Cairncross and Vivian Valdmanis. 2

ndEdition. World

Bank, Washington, DC.

Koestler, AG, Koestler, L (2008). Sustainability of rural water supplies through monitoring. Access To Sanitation

And Safe Water: Global Partnerships And Local Actions. 33

rd

WEDC International Conference, Accra,Ghana.

Kreuger, LW., Neuman, WL (2006). Social Research Methods - Qualitative and Quantitative Applications.Pearson Education, Inc, Boston, USA.

La Frenierre, J., (2009). The Burden of Fetching Water: Using Caloric Expenditure as an Indicator of Access to

Safe Drinking Water - Case Study - Xieng Khouang Province, Lao PDR. University of Denver, USA.

Lind, (2008a). Literacy Programs For Adults: What can we expect? International Review of Education (2008)

54:755761, Springer 2008 .

Lind, (2008b). Literacy For All Making a Difference, UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning(IIEP), 2008.

Mba, CJ., Kwankye, SO. (2007). Population, Health And Development In Ghana: Attaining The Millennium

Development Goals. Population Association of Ghana, University of Ghana. Sub-Saharan Publishers,

Accra.

McCaffery J, (2007). Developing Adult Literacy: Approaches to Planning, Implementing, and Delivering LiteracyInitiatives. Oxford Publishers, England,Great Britain.

McKay, A., Aryeetey, E. (2007) Ghana: The Challenge of Translating Sustained Growth into Poverty Reduction.

Delivering on the Promise of Pro-Poor Growth. The World Bank/ Palgrave Macmillan, Washington, DC.

Montgomery, MA, Bartram, J, Menachem, E. (2009). Increasing Functional Sustainability of Water and Sanitation

Supplies in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental Engineering Science Journal, Volume 26, Number

5, 2009, Mary AnnLiebert, Inc. USA.

Nussbaum, M.C. (2005). Women And Human Development The Capabilities Approach. Cambridge University

Press, New York.

Owusu-Boampong, A. (2007). Compilation of Data on Non-Formal Education Provision and Policies. Country

profile prepared for the Education For All Global Monitoring Report, 2008, UNESCO.

Owusu-Mensah, F. (2007). Ghana Non-Formal Education. Country profile prepared for the Education For All

Global Monitoring Report, 2008, UNESCO.

Payne, J. (2007). Adult Learning In Rural Areas: www.niace.org.uk/lifelonglearninginquiry/docs/Rural.pdfPrahalad, CK. (2010). The Fortune At The Bottom of The Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits. Updated

5th

Anniversary Edition. Pearson Education, Inc. Wharton School Publishing, New Jersey.


17/18



Vol.3, No.4, 2013

17

Pruss-Ustun, A, Bos, R, Gore, F, Bartram, J (2008). Safer Water, Better Health: Costs, benefits and sustainability

of interventions to protect and promote health. World Health Organization. WHO Press, Geneva.

Switzerland.

Sachs, J. D., (2005). The End of Poverty: How we can make it happen in our lifetime. Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,New York.

Senge, P, Bryan, S, Nina, K, Laur, J, Sara, S, (2008) The Necessary Revolution How Individuals And

Organizations Are Working Together To Create A Sustainable World. First Edition. Doubleday

Publishing Group, New York.

UNDP, (1997). Human Development Report: Human Development to Eradicate Poverty. Palgrave MacMillanPublishers, New York.

UNESCO, (2008). The Global Literacy Challenge: A profile of youth and adult literacy at the mid-point of the

United Nations Literacy Decade, 2003 2012. UNESCO, Paris, France.

------------- (2006). Handbook For Literacy And Non-Formal Education Facilitators in Africa. UNESCO, Paris,

France.

------------- (2005). EFA Global monitoring Report 2006, Education for All Education for All Literacy for Life.UNESCO, Paris, France.

World Bank, (2010a). Project Performance Assessment Report Republic of Ghana, Second Phase of TheNational Functional Literacy Project, June 2010. Sector Evaluations Independent Evaluation Group

(IEGSE), World Bank Report No. 54813. Washington, DC.

--------- (2010b). Africas Infrastructure - A Time for Transformation. The International Bank for Reconstructionand Development /World Bank, Washington, DC.

World Bank, (2006). World Development Report 2007: Development and the Next Generation. The World Bank,

Washington, DC.

World Vision Ghana, (2004). Central Sector Operations, Annual Report. World Vision Ghana, Accra.

World Vision Ghana (2003). World Vision Ghana Rural Project (GRWP) Phase III Final Evaluation Report.

World Vision Ghana, Accra.

The author, Auckhinleck Kwame Adow, was born on 1st

January 1955 at Anum, in the Eastern Region of the

Republic of Ghana. He is currently a PhD student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology(KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana. He currently holds qualifications as follows: Master of Public Health, May 2011,

Atlantic International University, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; M.A. Population Studies, United Nations Institute of

Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana, 1993; B.A. (Hons.) Social Sciences,

Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, 1988.

His almost 30 years career experience covered 16 years in rural development and program management

with World Vision Ghana from January 1996 to February 2012; 4 years in academia as a Teaching Assistant; 7 and

half years in commercial and development banking; 2 years with the Ghana Civil Service. He currently resides in

Accra - Ghana, as a Development and Research & Evaluation Consultant. He can be reached through e-mail:

[email protected]


18/18

This academic article was published by The International Institute for Science,

Technology and Education (IISTE). The IISTE is a pioneer in the Open Access

Publishing service based in the U.S. and Europe. The aim of the institute is

Accelerating Global Knowledge Sharing.

More information about the publisher can be found in the IISTEs homepage:http://www.iiste.org

CALL FOR PAPERS

The IISTE is currently hosting more than 30 peer-reviewed academic journals and

collaborating with academic institutions around the world. Theres no deadline for

submission. Prospective authors of IISTE journals can find the submission

instruction on the following page:http://www.iiste.org/Journals/

The IISTE editorial team promises to the review and publish all the qualified

submissions in a fast manner. All the journals articles are available online to the

readers all over the world without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than

those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. Printed version of the

journals is also available upon request of readers and authors.

IISTE Knowledge Sharing Partners

EBSCO, Index Copernicus, Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, JournalTOCS, PKP Open

Archives Harvester, Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, Elektronische

Zeitschriftenbibliothek EZB, Open J-Gate, OCLC WorldCat, Universe DigtialLibrary , NewJour, Google Scholar
http://www.iiste.org/http://www.iiste.org/http://www.iiste.org/Journals/http://www.iiste.org/Journals/http://www.iiste.org/Journals/http://www.iiste.org/Journals/http://www.iiste.org/

Documents

Role of Literacy In Sustainable Boreholes Provision – People Empowerment For Poverty Reduction