By Samuel SAM
In commemoration of the World Water Day (WWT), a photography exhibition to create awareness on water scarcity and climate change in the fight against climate change and the promotion of water conservation has been held in Tamale.
The event, organised by Foto4change – a multimedia initiative dedicated to using photography, video and immersive storytelling to drive social impact, aimed to educate the public on the state of water crisis and climate change with the use of photos to showcase the powerful images that highlight the importance of water conservation and impact of water scarcity and climate change in some communities, region and the country as whole.
It was a call for action toward sustainable future and also to show real-life stories on what is happening on the water bodies and its effects on economic and domestic activities.
The event – which brought together experts from water and sanitation fields such as Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA), NORSAC, Savana Opticals, Wateraid, Actionaid, UNICEF-Ghana, B&FT, GJA, among others – called for sustainable action toward addressing issues with water, food security and empowerment.
“Ghana Water Company on its own might encounter infrastructure challenges, but then the main challenge is the source of water. I can ask how many of us in Tamale ever think of or ask themselves where does Ghana Water Company actually get the water to treat and distribute to the populace in Tamale?” Water and sanitation expert Samuel Adjei asked.
He called for awareness creation to discourage illegal activities at the water bodies to enable Ghana Water Company access quality and the quantity of the water for treatment and distribution to consumers.
The Team Lead of Foto4Change, Geoffrey Buta, said visual storytelling is more than just capturing images and a tool for advocacy and self-expression with career development.
In using photography, video and immersive storytelling to drive social impact, it aligns with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) five – which focuses on advocacy, education and innovation, amplifying voices from marginalised communities through visual storytelling.
“I have been doing this with the team for the past eight years in documenting issues affecting water and climate. So this particular day on which we are celebrating WWD, we wanted people to see the effects and what is actually happening on the ground since most organisations do statistics, policies and meetings,” he said.
In Tamale, there have issues with water for the past almost 10 years, and this is a critical moment people are finding it very difficult having access to potable drinking water; hence, the exhibition, he noted. He appealed to policy-makers to endeavour to help address issues of water crisis in Tamale.
