Help Rural Ethiopians Improve Access to Water

CHF International has completed work in two of the three zones that have been targeted for the water, sanitation, and hygiene projects (WASH).

In the zone of Gode, CHF has trained 90 community agents to educate and create awareness about the importance of water safety, sanitation, and hygiene. The community agents were also part of a broader plan to localize training and distribute 50,400 point-of-use water purification systems. These purification systems will help raise awareness about water contamination and provide safety from water-borne illness.

In the Afder zone, CHF has completed construction of 13 shallow wells, 1 birkad (rain water reservoir), and local training for well maintenance and hygiene and sanitation. At each water access point, CHF helped institute a Water Management Committee (WMC) consisting of 12 members, 50% of whom are women. The WMC manages the future use of the water access point and facilitates the community’s contribution to the maintenance of the well.

CHF is now implementing the WASH program in the Warder zone. The goals of the project are to rehabilitate 53 shallow wells, construct 15 birkads, and provide maintenance and hygiene and sanitation training in all 68 work locations. Work should begin soon and we are excited to start the WASH program in the new region. We would like to thank our donors for their generous support that has made this work possible. Please feel free to get in touch with our contact (listed above) to learn more about or comment on this project.

Belaynesh Alemu (pictured above) is a resident of Siltie Woreda (district) in Gerbiber village. She became a single mother two years ago, which left her without any income to support her five children. To make ends meet, she moved in with her mother and began selling sugarcane and Areki, a local type of alcohol, for subsistence.

CHF International/Ethiopia identified Belaynesh’s family as one of the poorest households in her kebele, or neighborhood. And, because Belaynesh was healthy enough to partake in labor activities, Belaynesh received assistance from the CHF Intensification of the Generating Employment and Building Independence (I-GEBI) Program. I-GEBI delivers resources and training to the poorest households in seven food-insecure woredas of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia.

Belaynesh received more than two dozen chickens and was able to increase her assets by selling some to buy a sheep. She currently has six chickens that produce six eggs per day. She sells some of these eggs for additional income, which she uses to buy grain from the local market, elementary school materials for her three daughters, and other miscellaneous household items such as kerosene, salt, and grain-milling services.

Belaynesh went from having no income to having wealth-producing assets in the form of the chickens, sheep, and now, an additional lamb. She now earns a steady income thanks to these assets, and she is able to save one birr (approximately US$0.10) per month so that she can eventually buy a cow.

I am now food secure, thanks to CHF. --Belaynesh Alemu

In addition to increasing food security to reduce people's dependence on food and cash assistance, CHF/Ethiopia is also strengthening livelihoods and access to markets, and increasing access to water and sanitation.