Story collected by Mitku Wodajo, photos by Getinet Girma.
Desse is a young mother with two sons under the age of five—needless to say, life is busy! In addition to chasing little kids, Desse works with her husband on their 1.5 hectare farm cultivating crops, coffee, and vegetables.
She really didn’t have time to spend hours a day collecting dirty water.
Clean water access was a serious issue in Desse’s kebele of Dangali Gongo. Many of their wells had fallen into such disrepair that they could no longer be used. Instead, women like Desse collected water from open sources like muddy springs. These springs and streams were also used by animals (wild and domestic) who stirred up mud and contaminated the water with poop.
And they weren’t alone—296 million people around the world take water from unprotected wells and springs that pose a serious health hazard for their families. Dangali Gongo is just one of thousands of communities around the world suffering from parasite-infested water. In 2022, the WHO reported that, globally, at least 1.7 billion people were using a drinking water source contaminated with feces, posing the greatest risk to drinking water safety. Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to the transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.
That’s a long list of top killers for children under the age of five like Desse’s boys.
“We all used to drink from the [open] water,” Desse remembers. Along with their neighbours, they used to be sick a lot which further complicated their already stressful lives and threatened their children battling malnutrition.
Thankfully, Canadians like you pitched in to support FH water projects in Danglai Gongo and across the Sasiga Mid-Highlands of Ethiopia. FH repaired broken wells, capped open springs to protect them from contamination, and organized communities to dig brand new wells.
“After FH’s work in the area, our communities were provided with clean water,” Desse explains. “[Now] there is clean water! Our community members were saved from waterborne diseases and intestinal complications. My family is using clean water from the spring developed in the area.”
Across Dangali Gongo, personal and environmental sanitation has dramatically improved, due in no small part to the availability of clean water. Families are healthy, children are going to school, parents are making headway in earning income.
“I feel happy, courageous, motivated, and hopeful because of the changes I observe in my life and my community,” Desse beams.