Ghana Borehole Fund has two main objectives:

1. To provide clean, safe water to Ghanaian communities through the construction of boreholes, rainwater tanks, reservoirs and any other appropriate method of safe water collection and storage. The facilities provided will be for the public use of the society as a whole. The charity will work with reputable local Ghanaian firms and community leaders to assess the most appropriate water facilities to construct and will ensure that community members are trained to maintain the water facility constructed for them.

2. To work to eradicate water-borne parasites and diseases in Ghanaian communities through the construction of safe drinking water facilities. Such water-borne diseases include;

Guinea Worm which is a parasite that once ingested lives inside its human host for up to a year developing into a fully grown adult worm that can become up to 3 ft in length before emerging from the lower limbs of the person causing very painful ulcers. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-worm for more info.

Bilharzia is also a parasitic worm which enters the host through the skin as their hosts (mammals) bathe in infested water. These worms then travel to the liver and subsequently the digestive tract where they are excreted to re-produce. Bilharzia causes its host severe diarrhoea, fevers, abdominal pain and fatigue. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilharzia

Typhoid is a bacterial infection contracted by drinking infected water and causes sufferers severe diarrhoea, fever, headache, rash and gastroenteritis.

Cholera is a severe diarrheal disease and in its most severe form, is one of the most rapidly fatal illnesses known: A healthy person may become hypotensive within an hour of the onset of symptoms and may die within 2-3 hours if no treatment is provided. Cholera is again contracted by drinking infected water sources or eating infected food sources. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera