The Ambelalie Water Project

This project brought water, sanitation, and hygiene education to over 35,000 people in an area where only 29% of the population previously had access to clean water. All project objectives were met within the estimated timeframe, including water system construction, water and sanitation committee creation and latrine construction. A project evaluation was conducted and the most exciting results showed a significant decrease in diarrheal episodes and a decrease in time to collect water from an average of 3 hours to 15 minutes!

The project has significantly contributed to the improvement of the health and nutrition of communities as measured by decreased incidence of diarrhea, reductions in parasitic infections, increased child growth, lower morbidity and mortality through water and sanitation improvements that interrupt or reduce the transmission of disease agents. The project included the construction of 1066 latrines, 42 hand dug wells, 12 spring development systems, 16 boreholes and 6 roof rainwater harvesting sites. Additionally, 154 Community Health Workers were trained and 76 Water & Sanitation Committees were formed.

As you can see the project was successfully completed and now over 35,000 men, women and children have access to clean water and improved sanitation. These families have also received sanitation education which they can not only use within their own community, but this knowledge can be shared with others.

Since the fall of 2004, 76 village water projects - hand-dug wells, boreholes, spring catchments, and a rainwater harvesting system - have been completed in the Tigray region, benefiting over 32,000 people, including six schools. These safe water projects are having a huge impact on the lives of the residents of Tigray.

• Read the full report. (PDF)