This is a very, very overdue post and I apologize for the long wait. Ruth & I had very limited access the last few weeks of our trip, and I wanted to write a more detailed description of our visit with Wogen. Though we spent over a week in Gondar, it was very difficult to connect with all of the parties involved in this water project. Finally on the final day before we boarded the plane to Axum (aka the rockiest place in the world), we got all parties in the same room. In an area where connectivity is limited, the value of face-to-face interaction was all the more essential to the success of our project. But, let me start from the beginning…
Assefa’s mother (Ruth’s grandmother) lives in a rural village outside of Gondar called Chachkuona. (Well, that’s how it sounds anyways, but since there Amharic lettering doesn’t translate into the Sumeric alphabet, I can spell it any way I want to!) The village is high up in the mountains, and people walk to a spring several miles down the hill to collect water. The responsibility of collecting water is chiefly upon the women, and the average round-trip takes about 2 hours. The help of donkeys can alleviate the burden of physically carrying giant tubs of water several miles uphill, but most families do not have donkeys.
Assefa and his brothers were concerned for the welfare of their mother and other people living in Chachkuona, so when Assefa and his eldest daughter Mahlet were in Ethiopia last year, they began planning how to improve access to clean water. Assefa made a connection with Wogen, an Ethiopian-founded and Ethiopian-run nonprofit organization based in Gondar, and they agreed to be the project managers for a potential water project in Chachkuona. They just needed funding. Thus, Wogen Seattle was born to channel the resources of the vast Ethiopian Diaspora in Seattle and elsewhere to sustainable community projects—our pilot project is bringing water to this village.
In January, we commissioned a hydro-geological survey of the land surrounding Chachkuona to find the most viable place for a community water system. The scientist found that the most consistent source of water throughout the year was right next to the stream where the people already fetch their water. Now, this proved to be a point of contention, as I will later explain. Meanwhile, as Ruth & I were preparing to travel to Ethiopia, Assefa received word that the farmer owning the land where the scientist thought the well should go had agreed to donate the land to his community. Wogen agreed to be project managers, and they even started the process of designing construction plans and estimating total costs. Our plan was beautiful—a 3-tiered system with a water pump with clean water for drinking, a separate water trough for cattle, and a third bathing station to wash clothes and bathe in. Finally, we had a signed document from all community members in Chachkuona asserting the need for an improved water supply. Now, this phrase “improved water supply” proved to have different meanings to different people…
Fast forward to our last day in Gondar, Ruth, Alem & I made our way to the new Wogen office to meet with Mengistu, the Executive Director of Wogen Ethiopia. He and his team were incredibly hospitable and generous, showing us around the office and explaining the various initiatives. In addition to water projects around the countryside, they catalyze the formation of women’s cooperatives, create urban gardens, and sponsor children in their education. The urban gardens project, in particular, is funded by USAID; the other projects rely on the generosity of small communities around the world. For example, the school sponsorship program is paid for by a group of dedicated individuals in Corvallis, Oregon.
Then, Mengistu took us to a women’s cooperative where groups of women make injera (the bread-like staple of the Ethiopian diet) to sell to hotels in Gondar. As soon as we arrived, our heads were spinning with more ideas for future projects with Wogen & women’s cooperatives. For instance, we are interested in purchasing electric injera-makers to replace the wood-fired stoves they currently use. Without the thick smoke from wood cook stoves in an unventilated hut, the environmental & health conditions for these women would drastically improve. Not to mention, they may also make a higher profit, since electricity generation is cheaper than firewood in the long run. But, more about that another time—we were here to talk water.
A troop of us traveled by van to the edges of Gondar to look at a recently completed water project Wogen managed—this included Ruth, Alem & I, Mengistu, Yelak (Assefa’s brother) and three elders of the Chachkuona village. When we got to the water project, Ruth & I were so excited to talk to the village representatives about their water system. Our enthusiasm was not mirrored, and in fact, they looked a little uncomfortable. After some Amharic murmurings amongst themselves (of which I did not understand one word), one of them finally piped up to tell the group (again in Amharic) that the water system we had designed was not going to work for them. They asserted that the quality of water was fine but access was the main problem. They needed the water at their houses on the top of the mountain. Well, those of you with a basic understanding of physics grasp that you cannot move water uphill without generation of energy, and we didn’t have any. When we explained this predicament, they said that if we couldn’t bring the water closer, they didn’t want our well. This is what I mean by different definition of “improved water supply.” While we were excited to rid the water of contaminants, the people simply needed water closer to their homes—a need we could not meet.
Ruth & I were frustrated to say the least. But, I learned a good lesson and that is to listen, listen, and keep listening. After we asked one of the villagers if he ever got sick from the water, he told us that no one has ever gotten sick from the water—not ever. But then, upon further probing, he conceded that leeches in the spring are a significant problem, killing cattle and making the children sick. To me, this would be a simple case of causality: leeches in water make people sick. But, I think, to the people of Chachkuona, sickness can be a way of life. Illness is not attributed to specific causes like we tend to do in the US—it is just a fact of life. People are sick, often.
So, after we got that cleared up and explained in great detail about why we could not pipe water up to every individual household, the conversation significantly improved. At this point, discussion was now taking place over lunch at a local restaurant Alem recommended. I’m sure the large group of Ethiopians (three of which were legitimate shepards with staffs) and the one white girl with 2 pounds of fake purple hair braided into her head all sharing large plates of steaming shiro & injera and speaking in frantic Amharic/English/sign language would’ve been quite the sight.
Long story short, we ironed out all of the details. The community members from Chachkuona understood the problem and the solution that we laid out, and they were very excited about the improved health outcomes expected from this project. They vowed to explain to every household why the well is where it is, and why it is a vital need. Mengistu and Wogen renewed their commitment to oversee the water project and act as the liaison between Wogen Seattle & Chachkuona. In addition, Mengistu agreed to connect with the District government about including this specific well in their regular rounds of chemical purification all over the region. The villagers have started collecting money to contribute to a maintenance fund that will be controlled by a new water committee they elected. This committee will be in charge of collecting and spending maintenance funds, as well as deciding on security or any other protocols they deem important. Construction will begin in November at one of the only breaks in the growing season, and villagers will contribute the labor needed.
Everything is in place for a very successful water project, dramatically changing the lives of hundreds of people in a rural village in Ethiopia. Everything except the money to make it happen. And, this final piece is the responsibility of Wogen Seattle—to utilize all of the resources in the US and elsewhere and channel funds to the sustainability and implementation of this water project.
Ruth & I started out on a journey to Ethiopia with no idea where it would take us. We both came away completely in awe at the beauty and generosity of the Ethiopian people. And, we left committed to finish what we had started and make sure the deserving people of Chachkuona get water. With improved water quality, there will be more healthy people contributing to the economic development of the region. There will be more time for children to go to school and possibly for women to take on their own economic ventures. There will be fewer cattle dying, eliminating the threat of a sort of bankruptcy literally overnight. Less children will die from an entirely preventable disease: diarrhea. Any way you look at it, life will be better.
I ask you to join us. If you have $5 or $500, we welcome it all. Our goal is to have $12,000 by November to begin construction. This well will be community effort—the entire village of Chachkuona is dedicating the few resources it has to making safe drinking water a reality. If they can donate their scarce money & time, then so can you. Please join the growing community here and completely change the lives of hundreds of people on the other side of the world. They are waiting…
