Ayenalem Tegnework, a young girl in Danse kebele, near Ankober worda of north shewa zone of Amhara state was forced to interrupt her education from Grade 8 as she cannot go far away from home to join high school. The problem is if she did, she would not have adequate time to fetch water for her household. Almost all girls in her neighborhood had to trek about three hours a day to fetch water for the family, regardless of its hygiene.
According to her, students become tired and risk their life due to the long distance travel through the uncomfortable road to fetch water. She further stated that her school itself is at least two hours trip from home and does not even provide adequate water for students.
As a result many students including her were forced to interrupt their education for many years. A development project by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter Church Aid Commission, has helped the
society access potable water supply with in a distance of five minutes journey.
On the one hand, the Commission has much significance for the society in general and for her in particular as it trims time previously taken to fetch potable water. Due to this, the project has significant impact to her and the community, now she is ready for buying cattle and breeding widely in the upcoming period in order to live better way.
Samuel Sisay, Expert of environmental and private cleaning and community participation at the Commission told The Ethiopian Herald that, the project supported by Norway Church association, government, and community which started its working during four years ago.
Among the various points which embrace with the project, one wash program is crucial to the community and student through providing pure water, sanitation, hygiene and building quality toilets and the like. In this, regard, before operating the project, female students were facing myriads of problems, especially during menstruation period.
Due to lack of water in his school, females absenteeism grew to three-five days a month, while more than 50 days in a year. These show that female students were highly affected by water shortage compared to male counterparts.
But wash program has been playing pivotal roles in building different cleaning areas like female bathroom within the school to avoid absenting. Apart from these, the water which students use in school is released systematically so that farmers can use it to irrigate their lands and grow cereals and vegetables.
According to Samuel, the project in its two phases has covered Ankober woreda, Menjare and Shenkora woreda , and Berhet worda benefitting close to 30, 382 people. More than 17 percent of water problem has been addressed during the past three years through the one wash project.
In addition to this, the wash program does not only depend on providing water, rather it works on awareness creation, building capacity of the community and experts, among others.
In a neighborhood called Ayegber, a village near Ankober worda, people used to travel half a day to find water and return home. Shortage of pure water has been their major challenge for more than six decades. As a result, most of them were forced to leave their homesteads and take refuge in relatives’ houses far away from home. This has also been a major cause for some social crisis for the past many years, he noted.
Yonas Lemma, school Director at Danse district on his part recalled before establishment of the school in the Kebele, students used to travel long distance to attend school. Five years ago, a new school was established to satisfy students’ and their parents.
Yet, since the new school had no access to water teachers were forced to migrate to other schools. But the project has helped them to return home as they can now enjoy better health service and livable environment.
The Ethiopian Herald July 6/2019
BY MESERET BEHAILU
