Former Walking for Water Club president, now 24, traveled to Ghana for latest well installation

Hi, I’m Maya Takabayashi. I’m 24 years old and was the former Walking for Water club president at Laguna Beach High School. Back in December 2024, I had the incredible honor of traveling to Ghana with Susan Hough and other club members to visit the latest well installation.

This trip was truly heart-opening. Growing up, I practiced rituals from the Dagara tribe with the club’s founders, Sobonfu Somé and Susan Hough. Sobonfu was from the Dagara tribe in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and those rituals have always been such a meaningful part of my life.

Our journey took us from Accra to Cape Coast, all the way up to the northern regions of Ghana near the border of Burkina Faso. Driving through the country was beautiful and humbling. As we got closer to the Burkina Faso border, something shifted. The land felt spiritually rich, and it brought back so many childhood memories of Sobonfu. I felt my heart expand in such a profound way.

Early in the trip, I met an amazing Ghanaian woman, Tina Fynn, who was helping us with the project. We roomed together during the trip, and I’m so lucky to call her a close friend now. Tina and her father, Thomas Fynn, hosted a photo exhibition and ceremony at their cultural event center near Cape Coast in her hometown, Moree. This center was built to preserve Ghanaian culture, and it was such a special experience. The exhibition happened on a full moon, and we were honored to meet the Chiefs and witness a beautiful ceremony filled with dancing, singing, and music. The energy was so vibrant and alive. After enjoying incredible food, I danced with some young girls who attended school nearby.

While in Moree, we spoke with villagers who still rely on a nearby river for water. They shared that the water isn’t always clean, and unfortunately, some people get sick from it. After visiting Moree, we traveled to the Savannah region in northern Ghana. As we drove further north, the land became drier and hotter, and clean water became harder to find. We noticed that wealthier areas had easier access to clean water, while villages struggled with limited access. Some villages even had bottled water that wasn’t clean.

One of the villages we visited, Larabanga, is home to Ghana’s oldest mosque, a stunning whitewashed adobe structure dating back to 1421. The people in Larabanga were incredibly kind, but many of the children are orphans who desperately need access to clean water and education. The local women there made shea butter, but sadly, the village’s wells were broken, and the water they shared with animals wasn’t safe. Several people were getting sick. We’re now raising funds to bring clean water and school supplies to Larabanga.

During the trip, we also visited wells we had raised money to build in Kananto and Kabampe. Beforehand, we met with the Water Research Institute in Accra and learned some disappointing news—some of the boreholes we funded weren’t working. We spoke with the villages about this and hope to provide better education and solutions to improve water access. Everyone deserves clean water, and unfortunately, the biggest obstacle is funding.

It’s crucial to raise awareness in wealthier countries about these water crises. At the end of the day, we’re all one human community, regardless of borders. This trip deeply impacted me—it felt like a rebirth. I’m still processing so much, but my spirit feels more expansive than ever. I’m committed to fighting for Indigenous rights and raising awareness about these issues. I truly believe that indigenous ways of life hold the power to heal the world.

Love knows no hierarchy. Everyone deserves access to clean water. Water is life. I can’t wait to share more about these projects and plan events to raise awareness and funds. Let’s work together to make a difference.