Ethiopia Program Update: January 2008

Completed Project: Ilamu Muja

Ilamu Muja is a farming community located about 1-1/2 hours west of the capital city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The people of Ilamu Muja are subsistence farmers, growing tef, wheat, and barley. They also herd livestock such as cattle and sheep. Ilamu Muja is an isolated community, with no local health facilities or market, and until recently, no school. For all these basic services, community members must go to Ambo town, about 3 miles walk.

With the help of our local Ethiopian partner organization, Water Action and contributions from Water 1st donors, including Covenant World Relief and Ty Cramer and Steve Romein, the 3,500 people of Ilamu Muja completed construction of their water system in January 2008. At 2:00 p.m. on January 14, ribbons were cut and speeches were made, and water officially began to flow from the ten new taps constructed with funds provided by Water 1st.

Construction

Construction on this project began in April 2006. The projects include elements include a 462-foot deep well. A professional drilling contractor successfully drilled 462 feet to capture the water source. The driller’s well log and pump test information confirm the water source will meet the design specifications for the project (production is 116 gallons per minute). Water quality testing was also performed confirming that the water source will also meet or exceed the water quality standards set for the project.

Water is pumped from the well by a submersible pump connected to the EEPCO (Ethiopian Electric Power Company) grid. Water is pumped uphill to a 13,000 gallon water storage tank. Water from the storage tank flows downhill through distribution piping to supply the villagers of Ilamu Muja with safe water 24-hours/day at 10 community tap stands with four spigots at each tap stand.

The community contributed the labor required to excavate trenches and install six miles of pipeline. They also contributed unskilled labor for the construction of the storage tank, tap stands, and latrines.

The community constructed 56 traditional pit latrines and 100 solid waste disposal pits to improve sanitation conditions. The 56 latrines are “model” latrines. A portion of the households of the community constructed the model latrines and are examples to others of the benefits of having a private latrine, thereby generating a demand for latrines from within the community. The water committee maintains a supply of tools and materials for latrine construction. The goal is that the entire community will have latrine coverage by January 2010.

Gulany is in her seventies. She’s been carrying water since she was a little girl. When describing the water she used to drink, she said it contained worm-like parasites that she could see and feel in her mouth. She nearly died last year after contracting dysentery and suffering from several days of bloody diarrhea. When we met Gulany in January 2008, she insisted that we see her new latrine. Raising her arms to the sky in thanks, she also expressed her happiness at finally having a private toilet. “Every day, I would go in the bushes, and I would hear someone and then I would worry that they had seen us. But now I have this beautiful latrine and I am no longer ashamed. I thank God for giving me this beautiful latrine.”

Community organization and training

A water and sanitation management committee, made up of both men and women, has been established and trained to operate the water system. This committee meetings every 2 weeks.

The water and sanitation management committee is collecting a modest fee from all users, based on the volume of water collected at the tap stands. All tap stands are metered, which is very sophisticated for rural projects in developing countries. Metering provides a great tool to the community for managing the system for leaks, discouraging over-consumption, and providing a check on the sales of water at the tap stands.

The water and sanitation committee is also responsible for paying the monthly electric bill, tap stand attendants, community plumbers, the cost of replacement parts, and ultimately the expansion or replacement of this water system when necessary. Water Action estimates that about 20 jobs will be provided by the Ilamu Muja project (10 tap attendants, several guards and plumbers).

The community has also selected 10 volunteers to serve as village hygiene communicators (VHCs) who have been trained. The VHCs completed 15 days training in latrine construction and use, hand-washing at critical times, and keeping households and surrounding courtyards clean of animal feces. This is an enthusiastic and committed group of people as evidenced to us during a site visit in 2007. When we asked the VHCs what their “term of office” was, they responded, “forever.”

Dustagunfa is one of the VHCs. In January 2007, she told us, “Even though I am an educated person, I was not aware that latrines and keeping the household surroundings clean from animal feces would have such an impact on the health of my family. Through the training, I realized that what I was doing with my family to keep clean was only going half-way. Because this was new information for me too, my teaching has begun at home first, in talking with my husband and my children. We have made changes at home, and now I am a model for my neighbors because they can see the impact that it’s having for us.”

More than water

Water 1st believes that safe water and latrines are important to health, but can also build a foundation for future development activities in a community. Ilamu Muja is a perfect example of that. They not only have a new water system, they also have a new school. Firumsa Gudeta, a representative of the local district administration said, “Only about half the people in Ambo woreda have local schools. However, we only have funds for one new school each year. Because Ilamu Muja has water, it seemed like this was the best location for a new school this year.”

Project in construction: Bishikiltu

Bishikiltu is a community of over 4,243 people in the Oromia region, just west of the capital, Addis Ababa. Water scarcity has plagued the community for generations. The nearest water source is a river that they share with cattle and other animals. It’s about a 2-hour walk from the community, and most households make several trips each day to collect all the water they need. Children and adults are frequently ill. Even baby cattle have died. Personal hygiene is not practiced – there is simply not enough water to bathe. Half of the children miss school in order to help their mothers fetch water.

During our visit, we met mothers and fathers and children, including families who had lost children to water-related illnesses. We saw their current, horrific water source. The headman of the village, Galana Bayesa, told us that the community is so desperate for a safe water source that they “would be willing to sell our souls to make sure the future generation has water.” A village woman named Ibitsu added, “When we have water here, then I will know that God has touched the ground.”

The project started in February 2008 and is expected to be completed in July 2009. The project is designed to accommodate growth in the community over the next fifteen years. The water source utilized for the project will produce enough water in the dry season to support the needs of 6,610 people. The water bill charged to each user takes into account the need to accumulate enough savings to construct a supplementary system to meet the demand of a larger population than 6,610 that is anticipated in the area beyond 2023.

Preliminary investigations indicate that a capped spring system, pumped to a central distribution tank, and then piped to 12 public water points, should meet the community’s needs. The goal is that no one has to walk more than 15 minutes to a water point. Additional facilities include gender-specific showers, laundry-washing stations, and cattle troughs, so that boys no longer have to spend hours daily walking the cattle to watering holes.

Village hygiene educators will be elected and trained, and household will construct pit latrines. A water board will be established to operate the water system, including collecting water fees at the public taps and dispatching trained village water technicians to perform any necessary repairs and maintenance.