Help Rural Ethiopians Improve Access to Water

For the last year, Mrs. Fatima Ali has been living in the Somali region of Ethiopia with her pastoral community. She had no choice but to drink water directly from unprotected shallow wells and the Shabele river. She knew nothing of water treatment and water purification systems, and she and her family suffered from diarrhea and other water borne diseases as a result. Thanks to the LIVE-WATER program, CHF International provided Fatima with training in hygiene and sanitation and in the use of water purification systems, such as Pur and water guard. Now, knowing the importance of water treatment, Fatima always makes sure to purify her water before drinking it. With her new set of water treatment equipment, she has greatly improved the hygiene and sanitation of her own home.

Fatima feels that CHF’s programming in the Somali region has opened people’s eyes to the possibility of a brighter future by strengthening the disaster response capacity of some of the most vulnerable households in the region. Fatima now shares the skills which she has obtained from CHF International and holds local workshops on hygiene and sanitation in her neighborhood so as to help her neighbors share in the better quality of life as well.

“I am safe from diseases & I underst[and] that the cause was drinking untreated water.” Fatima said.

Fatima believes that CHF has done good work for both the water supply and hygiene and sanitation of the Somali region. She points to herself as proof. Fatima, a mother of two daughters and a son, lives in the Dud’ade, Gode region of Ethiopia. She is just one of the beneficiaries whose health has improved dramatically as a result of the water and sanitation aspect of the LIVE-WATER program.