MG2010 West: Water 1st International

Access to safe water and toilets is the first step to ending the cycle of poverty, illness and death in Kelcho Gerbi, Ethiopia

Location: Dawo Woreda, Oromia, Ethiopia
Number of people benefitting: 4,085
Project Completion Date: December 31, 2010

Kelcho Gerbi is a farming community located about three hours west of the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa. The people of Kelcho Gerbi are subsistence farmers, growing tef, wheat, and barley. They also raise livestock such as cattle and sheep. The community is isolated, with limited access to schools, health facilities, or markets. For basic services, community members must go to Wolisa or Ginchi, which are 10 to 15 kilometers away.

Current situation: The traditional water sources for this community are unprotected springs and streams. Water sources are shared with livestock, making them extremely contaminated. During the dry season, the villagers are forced to walk long distances - five kilometers over hilly terrain - to find water. (The woman carrying water and a baby in the very beginning of the film above is from Kelcho Gerbi.)

The lack of access to safe drinking water and latrines places a heavy health burden on children. Water-related illnesses are widespread in Kelcho Gerbi and other Ethiopian villages, leading to a child mortality rate in Ethiopia that is among the highest in the world.

Providing safe, convenient water and ending the walk for water: The project in Kelcho Gerbi takes advantage of work already completed by the Ethiopian government. The local water office has drilled a well, but they did not have enough funding to construct a distribution network. With funding from you and Water 1st, the community will be able to construct a 20,000 gallon storage/distribution tank which will deliver water to eight public water taps. Taps will be located to keep the walking time to the water source under 15 minutes for all 4,085 residents of the community.

A permanent, sustainable solution: Households participating in the project elect a water management board, comprised of equal numbers of men and women. The water management board is responsible for ongoing operation of the water system, including collecting water fees from users, paying for the energy used to run the pump, and dispatching trained village water technicians to perform necessary repairs and maintenance. Local management of the project is critical to keep the system operating.

Improved health: Village hygiene communicators are trained to educate households about health and sanitation and the importance of clean water and latrines. Each village hygiene communicator is responsible for promoting a set of critical hygiene behaviors with their neighbors. Critical behaviors include increasing the frequency of handwashing, particularly before eating or preparing food and after going to the bathroom. Increasing the frequency of bathing is also stressed. In areas where water has been a scarce commodity for years, water conservation has always been a necessity. With the completion of a water project, community members can use much more water and can bath themselves and, more importantly, their children more often.

Role of Women: Women benefit the most from these projects, so they are the most motivated to keep water systems functioning. Therefore, it makes sense to include them in decisions about maintenance and repairs. Our projects place women in key roles, particularly on the local water committee. In this way, women participate in design and siting decisions, as well as long-term project maintenance. Having an important public role as a hygiene promoter or a water committee member provides a woman with job skills, enhances her status in the community, gives her more confidence, and ultimately paves the way for increased involvement of women in community affairs.