A day in the life of...

Frank Nansam-Aggrey, District Manager, Bongo and Bolgatanga Districts, Rural Aid (WaterAid partner organisation), Ghana.

"I get up as early as 4am. I am a Christian so I do my early morning devotion and read the bible. Around 6am I take my bath and then spend 30 minutes watching TV. I watch a programme that features the headlines of different newspapers. Around 7am I take my three year old son to school, and then I go to work.

Frank Nansam-Aggrey, District Manager, Bongo and Bolgatanga Districts, Rural Aid.

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

My job is the Rural Aid District Coordinator so I supervise the construction of all projects in the Bolgatanga and Bongo Districts. I have two offices; one in each district. I visit the Bolgatanga office first to see if anyone needs me. Then I check my itinerary and go and visit a community.

I make sure a baseline survey happens to assess the 'before' situation of the community to identify their needs and help them identify solutions. I train community volunteers to help the rest of the community draw up their own action plan and form a water and sanitation committee responsible for taking the plan forward. We try to be gender sensitive and make sure women are involved in the projects.

I train the volunteers to talk through the roles and responsibilities of water and sanitation committee posts such as chairperson, treasurer, secretary, organiser and handpump caretaker with the community. For example, the treasurer collects the household contributions. Sometimes this can be payments in kind such as a fowl that can be sold at market instead. I also train the water and sanitation committees in hygiene promotion and about how to write basic reports.

The action plan includes how often the committee should meet and how to decide where they want the well sited. The community keeps a copy of the action plan and I keep one too. I can then refer back to community action plans and discuss the progress with the volunteers.

I ensure that the logistics are in place for the execution of work and that there are the necessary materials available for construction. I work with the procurement officer at Rural Aid who procures the materials from Accra or Kumasi.

In the field I gather reports from the volunteers and verify that they reflect what is happening on the ground. For instance, I do random interviews with community members to see if people have learnt from the hygiene education.

Frank pictured in Apowugo village at the water source, talking with Embangba, 10, and 18 year old Joyce Alambiri.

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

I also read the notes from the community meetings and discuss any issues I may have. Sometimes I sit in on community hygiene education sessions. If I do this I 'hand over the baton' to them - I explain what they should do then sit down. I don't get too involved so that they can correct their own mistakes. I stay in the field until 4pm.

I can't go to the field every day as I have quarterly reports to write and other administration to do. I attend District Assembly (local government) meetings, where I brief the District on the progress of Rural Aid's work and give them our plans for the coming period. We meet three times a year. At the beginning of every year we put our two lists of applications for help together and decide together whom to help.

We look first at the need, such as the state of the current water source. Communities with no access to improved water sources are prioritised. We also take into account the distance the community has to travel for water and their level of commitment to managing a project.

If I've been in the field I go back to the office at the end of the day, go through the day's activities and prepare for the next day. In the evening after work I go to church, especially on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Then I just have some time with my kids and wife. I watch some TV, listen to the 10.30 news then go to bed."

Interview by Libby Clarke, WaterAid's Communication Services Manager.

About the area

The Bongo and Bolgatanga Districts are in the Upper East Region of Ghana in the far north of the country, a twelve hour drive from the capital Accra.

This is the hottest and driest area of the country, where little grows. The traditional water sources relied on by communities and animals alike vary hugely throughout the year. During the wet season from June to August water can be plentiful, albeit dirty and contaminated, in rivers and ponds but by the end of the dry season many water sources dry up completely, leaving just cracked earth in their place.

WaterAid works in partnership with local NGO Rural Aid to help poor rural communities gain access to safe water supplies such as hand-dug wells or boreholes, build latrines and develop an understanding of safe hygiene practices.