Economic Growth Ethiopia Project #39865

Thirsty for Clean Water, Hungry for HOPE

by HOPE International Development Agency

Project Report | Dec 17, 2019
Materials are purchased and Work Begins

By Julie Cole | UK Fundraiser

Thank you to a British school

Thank you for your support for HOPE's Water and Sanitation Project in Zala Dola. Because of your generosity, and those of others, materials are now being purchased and work will start on their new water system as soon as possible. This is the fulfillment of a dream for a community that has had to source water from unpredictable and often contaminated locations over one hour away on a daily basis. These 1,484 people know that clean water access will transform their lives! THANK YOU!

In recent months, there have been some exciting initiatives that have raised much money for this HOPE project. For example, five local men from Bristol ran two ultra-marathons (90 km/56 miles in total) in two consecutive days along the Cotswolds Way to raise funds for Zala Dola on 15 & 16 June 2019. Together they raised £8,677 from sponsors for their epic runs.

One of these local runners, Ralph Davis, is also a teacher at St Bonaventure's RC Primary School and in early May he encouraged the pupils at the school to mirror his 90 km efforts by running the same distance collectively by class or year group for younger pupils. The children rose to the challenge and raised an incredible £7,724 for the Zala Dola project. "I showed the pupils a film about HOPE’s work in Ethiopia (see link to film below) so that they could understand and visualise what life without access to clean water looks like", said Ralph. "So many kids left highly motivated to make a difference by raising at least £10 each to buy a metre of pipeline to deliver clean water to the Zala Dola village. We were amazed watching the donations and support come in, setting a new school record for charitable fundraising."

One student who ran 3 km to raise money for clean water from sponsors was Lucas. “I wanted to really help after seeing the film because I can turn on the tap at any time and drink clean, fresh water. Everyone should be able to do that!”, he reported.

Since hearing the news that a school in England raised funds so that their community might have clean water, the two schools and village leaders in Zala Dola gathered with HOPE staff to send a touching video message of thanks back to the pupils St Bonaventure’s (see link to video below). “We are all so happy and thankful that we can get clean water in this community, so thank you very much,” shared the School Director, Kanjera Kanko.

Access to clean water means that children can attend school regularly and their parents can devote the added time they are not sourcing water, to earn necessary money for their families. We are grateful for everyone – young and old – who participated in Run for H2O and those who generously sponsored them. Their donations, like yours, have meant that work can start as soon as the rains cease and the purchased materials can be delivered to the project site. 2020 will be a year of great hope in Zala Dola!

From one school to another

Zara Dola School celebrates

Thank you from school directors

Links:

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Sep 16, 2019
"The way is open for you"

By Julie Cole | UK Fundraiser

Samuel and Arega from the Local Kebele Office

In many parts of Ethiopia, typically five to six villages are grouped togetherto form a community called a “Kebele” which is an administrative unit. Each Kebele elects a chairman and a vice chairman who are put in charge of managing community development and resolving problems in the community.

In recent months, whilst fundraising takes place for UK for this life-changing water and sanitation project, Samuel Gota, the Kebele Chairman, welcomed HOPE staff to the Kebele Administrative Office and further explained the current situation of the Zala Dola community. He and Arega Abba, the Kebele’s Vice Chairman, said that there are three main issues in Zala Dola right now. They are:

Lack of clean water access
“Though it’s a basic need for us, we have no water systems in this community,” said Arega. People in Zala Dola currently fetch water from springs or streams nearest to their neighbourhoods which are often contaminated. “We are very much looking forward to eventually having clean and accessible water,” said Samuel.
No Access to Health Facilities
Arega told us that there are no proper health facilities in this community. "There was once a private health clinic, but it closed down. There is a so-called health post, but they cannot treat most of their diseases, including water-borne diseases because most of the health posts in the rural sites do not have enough medicine, equipment or electricity to power the facilities. Therefore, the heath posts usually provide support to only pregnant mothers and children under 5 years old who are suffering from malnutrition." "If we get sick, and need proper treatment, we have to walk to the town of Geresse (about 10 to 15 kms from Zala Dola),” added one of the villagers.
Poor road access to the community
Samuel explained that the poor access by roads to the community causes the above problems. Zala Dola is about 5.6 kms off of the main road, connected by another very rough and muddy dirt road. “So, even though we have problems that should be solved, the government doesn’t pay much attention to us,” he said. “We feel neglected.”

Since they are deeply aware of the difficult accessibility to Zala Dola, both Samuel and Arega were very thankful to HOPE for choosing their community as an intervention site. “We thank you all, in God’s name, for coming to this remote area to help us. We are very happy and are ready to cooperate and contribute in any way you ask of us,” Samuel said gratefully. “The way is open for you.”

We invite you to support this effort to bring clean water to Zala Dola! The way is open for you too!

Women headed to the local market

Children at one of the local schools in Zala Dola

A local house in Zala Dola

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Jun 21, 2019
Improvements & Changes to Zala Dola Project Plan

By Julie Cole | UK Fundraiser

Local Admin Office meets to discuss water project

Further to recent consultation, HOPE has revised the Project Plan for the Zala Dola Water & Sanitation Project. Instead of using galvanised iron pipes for the pipeline that will deliver the clean water 5.86 km from the capped spring to the water points in the village, HOPE will use approved HDPE pipes. Galvanised iron pipes have been used by HOPE for the water pipelines for many decades, but the significantly increased prices of these pipes have forced HOPE to investigate other options. Other NGOs working in Ethiopia, as well as the local government, have recommended these HDPE pipes after successfully using them for similar purposes. Using HDPE pipes instead of galvanised iron pipes will reduce the material costs of the project by 57%.

Significantly, this means that the overall budget for the Zala Dola project has been reduced to £117,361.* This means that HOPE can better guarantee that the funds needed for this project to proceed, as per the current timescale, will be available and importantly, that future projects can progress as well.

HOPE is always looking to improve on the work that it delivers. One of the greatest changes to its provision in recent years is the introduction of the work with women in Self-Help Groups (SHGs), teaching basic business skills and the principles of saving and lending money to one another to generate needed money. Since 2016, these SHGs have become a regular and valued component of our work to 'help people to help themselves out of poverty'.

Currently, the change in materials for our pipelines is of great significance, as it means that more work can be achieved with less money without compromising the quality of the water systems built. Thank you for supporting this project!

*All costings for the revised budget have been changed in the attached project budget and donation amounts to reflect the new updated costings.

Zala Dola school teachers

Current water source

Upstream - current water source

Example of skin disease due to contaminated water

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