Residents of Jankori Number one and two in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region are seriously in need of a health facility to alleviate the pains pregnant women and infants go through due to lack of health facility in both communities.

According to residents, pregnant women who are in labor have to be carried on a tricylce from Jankori to Manwe which is about 15kms to access health delivery and the worse of it is that, the road is not motorable which makes the tricylce drivers to delay in getting to the health facilities on time for the needed medical attention.

Pelinta Joseph, a resident narrate his ordeal to Radio Waa’s Saeed Fatawu stating that ” my wife gave birth and the placenta of the baby was not coming out and in such a condition she was unable to sit on a motorbike and I have to pick a tricylce from Jankori and get some women to assist her and it took us so much time before we could get to Manwe for medical attention and it was in the night, in fact that day I felt for my wife, the kind of agony she went through, if there was to be at least a small health facility here with midwives such wouldn’t have happened” he narrated.

On school, the two farming communities cannot boast of a KG not to talk of a primary School leaving children below the ages of 12 years to sit at home without attending school as those who managed to get basic education either trek several hours from Jankori to Goripie, Manwe or Viahaa for primary and Junior High School education.

Meanwhile, Timothy Sung, a resident and also a JHS graduate disclosed that, he and his colleagues used to walk from Jankori to Goripie which is about 12Kms to attend school and others too walked from Jankori no. 1 and no. 2 to Viahaa for basic education.

The community last year, erected a two classroom building with bricks with a promise from the district Assembly to get it roofed for them to use as Kindergarten but nothing has been heard from the Assembly and the building collapsed. This year, the residents made another attempt and erected one classroom structure with bricks again which is yet to be roofed. They are calling on government, NGOs and other civil society organizations to come to their aid.

Women in Jankori number one expressed worry that most of the young girls do not want to trek to other villages to attend school because of the damages and end up by running to down South to engage themselves in Kayaaye businesses and at the end of it, they come home with children. the women are appealing to government to at least establish a nursery and primary school in the community.

However, due to lack of access to basic education in the community, there is high rate of teenage pregnancy in both Jankori number one and number two.

By: Saaed Fatawu/Senior Journalist/Radio Waa