Clean water for 1 new person every 10 seconds

‘‘It takes me just two minutes to walk to the water point, turn on a faucet and let water run into my pot. As easy as that,’’ says Addissu.

Addissu is a 12-year-old school girl with bright eyes and an infectious smile. She giggles with her friends as they collect clean water from a capped spring in their village. They will bring the clean water back to their homes for cooking and household use.

Addissu lives in Hururfata village in northern Ethiopia, an area with scarce resources. It wasn’t too long ago that women and girls like Addissu walked a long distance to draw water from open rivers and unclean springs. The water would make them sick and the day to day search for water robbed the women and girls of a future.

Addissu remembers what the spring was like before. The water was open to the environment and not clean. Villagers would bring their cattle and other animals to drink from the spring, contami-nating the water and causing water borne diseases.

World Vision’s Yaya Gulele Area Program staff worked side by side with community members to cap the spring, placing a lid over the water source to prevent contamination. The community in-stalled two faucets to allow for easy access to the water and built a fence around the water system. A water trough was constructed outside of the fence, so that livestock stay away from the spring and can drink anytime of the day.

Along with receiving the clean water, Addissu and her family have learned about proper sanitation and hygiene. ‘‘My family and all children I know use soap and water to wash our hands before and after a meal as well as after the toilet,’’ Addisu said.

World Vision helped the community form a local Water Committee to oversee minor maintenances and re-source management of the spring. The committee collects several cents each time the beneficiaries draw water. The committee deposit the funds in a local bank to be used for repair and to replace fittings.

Addissu remembers the first time she gathered water from the newly capped spring. She sighed with relief when she found the spring was capped and clean water was running from the faucets.

Today Addissu is healthy and strong. Her community is no longer experiencing illness due to dirty water. Access to clean water has heralded a better future for Hururfata. ‘‘The water supply system has made our life much better and created a safe environment for us,’’ says Addissu, as she finishes filling her container at the capped spring.