Donkorkrom Prelate Appeals for Good Drinking Water for Inhabitants of the Lake Mission 

Following his recent Pastoral visit to the Lake Mission, the Most Rev. John Alphonse Asiedu, SVD, Bishop of Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate in the Kwahu Afram Plains, Eastern Region of Ghana, has bemoaned the poor living conditions of the faithful living in the Lake mission, who cannot even access good drinking water.

He calls on good-willed Ghanaians and others to support him in sinking boreholes that could supply the people with this basic necessity.

He made this known in an interview with the Department of Social Communications (DEPSOCOM) of the Vicariate, in his office on February 23, 2026.

The Chief Shepherd shared an encounter he had on the lake, where one of the assisting boat attendants kept struggling to fetch water from the lake to drink while the boat sailed.

For one of the pastoral workers who was on the trip, the water was no good, and so, rather than let the young man drink from the Lake, he offered him a bottle of good drinking water instead.

This very scene, according to the Bishop, set him thinking: “What next? What difference will it make for the young man after taking the bottle of clean water, or for a people who have been drinking water directly from the lake, from time immemorial?”

However, consoled that the Volta Lake was void of “galamsey” (illegal mining activities), he still felt there was a need for the water to be treated before the people could drink, to prevent diseases, which unfortunately is not the case.

“But this is where they are, no opportunity for them,” he lamented.

The Local Ordinary reflected on the possibility of sinking some boreholes in the area, so that the people could also access quality drinking water. Lacking the financial means to make such a life-saving dream come true, Bishop Asiedu appealed to benevolent organisations and individuals to support him in this venture.

“I would love to do it, but how do I do it? I cannot do that with empty hands,” he lamented.

According to him, sinking boreholes for the people will be of great help, as it will go a long way to prevent the spread of diseases that could be acquired from drinking directly from the Lake.

The need for good drinking water, the Bishop underpinned, is just one of the several needs of the people of the Lake Mission. Other basic needs they lack cut across health, housing, clothing, and nutrition, among others, but in his words, “drinking water is something that hits me hard,” he buttressed, sharing the hope that other needs could be tackled in due time.

The Pastoral Visit to the Lake Mission that ran from February 11 to 16, 2026, included four Priests, a Religious Sister, and some lay people travelling with the Bishop. They had taken off from Donkorkrom to Bruben, where they boarded a commercial boat to Germani, a journey of approximately 4 hours on the lake, and from Germani to Galilia, about 40 minutes away, and finally to Battorkope, where most of the activities took place.

The Priest in charge of the Lake Mission, Rev. Fr. Mathias Kudzo Yadar, SVD, had left Donkorkrom weeks earlier for the Lake Mission to prepare for the Bishop’s coming.

By Sr. Sylvie Lum Cho, MSHR (DEPSOCOM, Donkorkrom Apostolic Vicariate)