Project Overview
The Burie Woreda is a district in the coffee growing Amhara region of Ethiopia with one of the lowest levels of safe water supply and improved sanitation services in the region. 33% of the population have no access to clean water.
Upon starting this project, no government support was allocated to the Burie Woreda and our partners, WaterAid, were the only organisation in the area that could complete the work.
Through this project, 37,444 people in 5 keebles (wards) and 2 small towns were reached with clean water, 74,960 with improved sanitation and 56,000 with improved hygiene practises.
Access to clean water has transformed the communities, improving their health and life chances and providing the first building block of development.
Project Stats
Start date: 2015
Status: Completed March 2016
Community: Burie Woreda
Total project reach: 37,444
Project Waterfall reach: 3,257
Delivery Partner: WaterAid
about Ethiopia
94,100,000 population
61% lack access to water
92% lack access to sanitation
29.6% live below the poverty line
Over 3 years, 37,444 lives changed across 7 communities by providing sustainable access to clean water.
Improving schools
The project has brought improved toilet blocks into schools, which has reduced open defecation. Improving toilet facilities has improved dignity and increased attendance rates, especially among girls.
Supporting farmers
Subsistence farmers are common in the region and therefore are vulnerable to changes in water availability and patterns of rainfall. This project supported 204 farmers by installing water management schemes to improve food security throughout the year.
Developing Skills
Teaching health and safety skills empowers communities and is essential in embedding long-term success. This project taught local people how to maintain the new systems and promoted basic hygiene practices and water related disease prevention through community health campaigns.
HOW WE DID THIS
Over a period of 3 years, our partners WaterAid worked closely with the local community to construct the necessary infrastructure to increase access to water across the 5 keebles and 2 small towns in the Burie Woreda. Project Waterfall provided funding towards the final year of this project.
5 gravity flow systems, 2 reservoirs, 2 pump houses, 14 shallow wells, 12 hand dug wells & 20 water points were built across the communities
2 new boreholes were built in the towns of Kuchi & Alefa, with underground pipe networks to bring the water to several points throughout the community
8 schools received 14 Ventilated Improved Latrines
2 public shower houses were built to improve hygiene in the community - these will be managed by the community to ensure they remain clean and functional
Sustainability and education
Capacity building with the local community and the local authorities is essential to the sustainability of this project. We provided avocado and coffee seedlings to the communities who gained access to safe water so they could begin to generate an income which would maintain water points in the long term. The plants also help to protect water catchment areas to improve supply during dry periods.
Education is key to maintain the newly built infrastructure. As part of this project, WaterAid developed Water and Sanitation Committees, which built the skills of 184 people from local communities to manage the new water facilities. This includes managing the water schemes, collecting water usage fees and maintaining the systems.
the future
This project has been built to last. By building capacity in the local community and setting up committees to manage the water points, the future for these water sources is secure. Each committee will collect a monthly tariff from all the households that benefit from the water which will enable them make repairs to the system when needed. Maintenance tools, manuals and logistical support will be provided by our partners, along with dedicated caretakers and sanitation masons that are trained as part of the scheme to maintain the water points, shower blocks and toilets.
In the case of high level technical support needs, expert personnel will be provided by the Woreda sector offices.
We will continue to develop our partnership with WaterAid and work across Ethiopia to improve the lives of the poorest and most marginalised communities.
