Clean Water Ethiopia Project #52777

Bringing clean water and so much more to Markala

by HOPE International Development Agency

Bringing clean water and so much more to Markala

Project Report | May 31, 2022
Transformation is Underway in Markala

By Julie Cole | UK Fundraiser

Joy at the prospect of local, clean water!

Significant work is taking place in Markala. The community has been enthusiastically providing the labour to build a water reservoir, 10 water points, 9 wash basins and lay 5.25 km of pipe to direct the protected, safe water from the capped spring to within 10 minutes walk of each household. This is an expansion on the original project plan as the population numbers of the community were much larger than had been reported to HOPE. As a result, the HOPE staff have had to work extra hard to innovatively make best use of the materials available to extend the system to accommodate more users. In addition, HOPE staff are liaising with the local government officials to ensure that accurate population figures are collected for future HOPE projects to ensure that budgeting and planning is done correctly for smooth working.

The delivery of health, hygiene and sanitation education is also progressing in Markala. Households are being taught how to build their own pit latrine using local materials. They are being taught specific hygiene and sanitation practices including: frequent, effective handwashing; regular cleaning of clothes; improved cleanliness of homes and division of livestock from communal areas. This will improve their general health and prevent unnecessary illness and infection which was previously difficult to avoid.

It has been reported that 120 women have started small businesses and each have reported an increase in their household income. Similarly, further to the training and support received in their Self Help Groups, they are reporting a feeling of increased empowerment and self-value. Related to this, the majority of these women are also reporting a feeling of increased opportunity to make decisions in the household. This contributes to one of HOPE's goals of improved gender equality.

HOPE's investment in Markala will continue for the next year to facilitate training and embed hygiene and sanitation behaviours as well as livelihood skills training so that the local community can fully realise the health, educational and economic benefits resulting from having access to clean water. Transformation has started and our goal is to see it continue and grow long after we have moved onto our next project.

Now that fundraising has been completed for Markala, we would value your support of our next project in Harbir. We have already raised £59,526 of the budget offline and HOPE has a Run for H2O fundraising event taking place on 11th June, for which we have set a £15,000 target. In addition, we anticipate raising an additional £9,600 from our monthly donors prior to 1st October 2022. We have also applied for six grants to cover the majority of the final expenses, but would greatly benefit from one-off donations from supporters like yourselves.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING HOPE BRING MORE CLEAN WATER.

A new wash and water point are nearly complete

Meeting together for training

A new water reservoir

Links:

Our next project in Harbir

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Feb 2, 2022
2022 is the year for change in Markala

By Julie Cole | UK Fundraiser

One of the new Self Help Groups meeting in Markala

Thank you for your generous donations to HOPE's current water project in Markala!

Last month we received an exciting report from the HOPE Ethiopia staff about the commencement of the Markala project. They reported that construction on the water system is underway, with the spring capping and building of the water reservoir currently taking place. HOPE staff stated that the community’s commitment to support the water system construction is very high. In fact, they have set aside three days to provide their labour to dig trenches, build the four water points and wash basins and the water reservoir. They have offered to help with maintenance on the local road on these days as well. This has proved to be a greater challenge than expected as there has been much damage to that road, making access a repeated problem. As a result, community members have been busy transporting purchased construction materials from that road, when not accessible by truck, to the village. They have also been resourcing materials for the water system that are locally available, e.g stones, sand, timber for fencing, etc. This high level of involvement is building local ownership and sustainability.

The start of the project has also involved many meetings between HOPE staff and the community. Firstly, representatives from the wider community have met to determine the location of the four water points so that they are distributed equally. In addition, Self Help Groups have been formed with 80 female volunteers and they have started to receive capacity-building training, including sessions on saving money, financial management, loan management and ideas for starting one’s own small business. Since the training began, every SHG member has started saving money on a weekly basis and it is expected that after six months, loans will be made from their group savings to fund their new small businesses. Other meetings include those on health, hygiene and sanitation education, as well as waterborne disease prevention and environmental protection. These are currently taking place in focus group meetings, but will continue door-to-door throughout the duration of the 24-month project. Finally, 13 men and 13 women have been elected as members of the Water Association, which is now receiving training to manage the water system on behalf of the community.

These initial construction efforts and communal gatherings for training have provided a positive start to HOPE’s project in Markala. Already, there is evidence of an increased sense of confidence and raised hope for the future. We are grateful for your financial support to help equip this community to become self-reliant and fulfil their desire to be free from a life of chronic poverty.

Focus Group Meeting about Health and Hygiene

Another SHG receiving training about saving money

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Oct 5, 2021
Work begins in Markala

By Julie Cole | UK Fundraiser

Amirat's current source of water for her family

As October begins, HOPE UK celebrates that the needed work on Markala's new water and sanitation system begins as well!

Last week, HOPE UK transferred £20,000 to purchase the necessary materials to build the gravity-fed, spring-capped water system in this rural Ethiopian community of 840 men, women and children. This money has been raised offline from five UK Trusts and Foundations and approximately 35 generous supporters of HOPE's work. We are delighted to have been able to make this transfer at this time because in Ethiopia building material costs have gone up dramatically, especially cement which has increased by 67% since the beginning of the year. This means the overall budget of this project has increased accordingly and therefore, there was an increased urgency to buy the materials before prices increased further.

Someone else pleased to see the construction of the water system underway is Amirat, a 13-year old girl from Markala. She has graduated from the 5th grade, but recently has not been able to continue her education because fetching water for her household is her responsibility and it is increasingly taking more time and involving more risks. Amirate travels at least one hour to fetch water which, for her growing family, needs to be done four times a day. There is not a water supply in her village, so she has to use the nearest river, which is highly contaminated further to inappropriate usage upstream and due to the cattle, that also use this for washing and cleaning. This leads to serious illness, resulting in limited funds being spent on medication, and increased time, making work and an education a rare pursuit. As a result, Amirat is ecstatic that, in just three months, four water points will be dotted around her community, allowing her to access plentiful, safe water. This will gift her family with improved health and increased time to pursue schooling and earning needed money. The start of this project is exciting news indeed!

HOPE UK has had many end of year donations promised for this project, moving us dramatically closer to our fundraising goal. In light of this generosity, we will be participating in GlobalGiving's #GivingTuesday Campaign, on 30th November, to raise the final £5,000 needed for this 24-month project. We welcome you to participate in this one-day campaign, knowing your giving will be multiplied and will transform the lives of those in Markala. THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Amirat on her fourth hour-long journey for water

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