Value-based water education project in Ghana

The paper reports on a Value-Based Water Education (VBWE) project implemented to develop a new water-use ethic in Ghana and some other African cities. The overall goal of the project is to facilitate changes in behaviour and personal attitudes among water consumers and to promote better understanding of the environment in a water context. The project implementation strategies among others include collaborative adaptation of existing educational material (curriculum) to incorporate VBWE, training of formal and non-formal educators to form a core of trainers in VBWE; and integration of universal values with those of early childhood peer group values. The project had organized workshops, prepared an action plan, trained teachers, developed a teaching manual, carried out internal monitoring and on-the-job training of teachers. Lessons from the project included the realization that all the project implementers should have a basic understanding of human values; education is a process and regular monitoring is imperative for project success. The project will expand to cover all schools in Ghana, integrate the VBWE into the school curriculum, establish water classrooms, conduct water audits and water quality education in the schools.