By Dick Moeller

Our overnight stay was in Ambo, about 130 kilometers west of Addis Ababa. The city is famous for a local natural spring that provides Ambo water that is bottled for consumption in Ethiopia and export as well. It is naturally carbonated and high in good minerals too! Very popular and tasty.
Today, we are going to the field with our implementing partner in the Central Gibe Synod (CGS) of the Mekane Yesus. Water to Thrive has worked with this synod for the last three years and has already implemented 20 projects with them and currently has another 15 projects underway for 2013 in the Midkegn District which is a three hour drive NW from Ambo. We will be visiting 3 projects sites today, all 3 finished spring protection systems in the communities of Bakafa Abetu, Lantwo and Gelan 1. They have been completed and serving the communities since March 2013.
The night before, it had rained hard in Ambo, so we were a bit concerned about getting to the projects. We left the bus in a town about ½ way to the projects called Gedo, and we all climbed in three Toyota land cruisers for the remainder of the journey. All though passable, the roads were difficult and muddy, so it was a wise choice and we made it to all three site locations.

At each site, we were always greeted warmly and enthusiastically by the local community. No matter how difficult the terrain, they would follow us to the site to express their gratitude along the way. You can see community surrounding the Lantwo site in the picture above.

The picture above is of Gelan 1 water point. All three of the spring had 5,000+ liter reservoirs for water storage. You can see the overflow pipe at the top of the reservoir, so that when it is completely full, water flows without putting back pressure on the spring, which might cause it to re-route itself. In the picture, you can see the local church choir in blue robes, but more about them in a moment.

We meet met with the water committees at each site. The picture above is of two of the women on the water committee at Bakafa Abetu. All of the water committees had completed their training and began immediately to collect a small monthly usage fee from each household to build a maintenance fund for each site. They had also established regular hours for collecting water, 6 am to 9 am in the morning and 4 pm to 6 pm in the afternoon.

The Midakeng district has very low clean water coverage, less than 20% in the areas that we are serving. The magnitude of appreciation and sheer joy over the water projects were demonstrated by all three communities. Shown above is the group enjoying some local bread and awesome coffee with the community members at Bakafa Abetu. There was concern with rain, so our fellowship time together was spent in a tent.

The yield at all three springs is such that it allowed for very helpful add-ons to improve the health and sanitation of the community. Separate cattle troughs have been installed, 50 to 75 yards away from the water points in order to prevent contamination of the project. Also, shown above, men & women’s showers have been installed. Showing a little entrepreneurism, the water committees have decided to charge 1 birr (less than ½ cent) for shower. This will help boost the maintenance fund and insure that water is not wasted.
The celebrations at each project site were moments of sheer joy for all of us. Happy smiling faces, sharing of gratitude and blessings, and warm open expressions of sheer joy with clapping and dancing. But the highlight of the day came at the last project, Gelan 1. As our vehicles arrived, we are greeted by a 20 person youth choir from the local Mekane Yesus congregation. Click on the video below to enjoy a few brief moments of our reception!

Their singing and dancing went on for almost 10 minutes. What a way to end the day!

 

By Dick Moeller

Our overnight stay was in Ambo, about 130 kilometers west of Addis Ababa. The city is famous for a local natural spring that provides Ambo water that is bottled for consumption in Ethiopia and export as well. It is naturally carbonated and high in good minerals too! Very popular and tasty.
Today, we are going to the field with our implementing partner in the Central Gibe Synod (CGS) of the Mekane Yesus. Water to Thrive has worked with this synod for the last three years and has already implemented 20 projects with them and currently has another 15 projects underway for 2013 in the Midkegn District which is a three hour drive NW from Ambo. We will be visiting 3 projects sites today, all 3 finished spring protection systems in the communities of Bakafa Abetu, Lantwo and Gelan 1. They have been completed and serving the communities since March 2013.
The night before, it had rained hard in Ambo, so we were a bit concerned about getting to the projects. We left the bus in a town about ½ way to the projects called Gedo, and we all climbed in three Toyota land cruisers for the remainder of the journey. All though passable, the roads were difficult and muddy, so it was a wise choice and we made it to all three site locations.

At each site, we were always greeted warmly and enthusiastically by the local community. No matter how difficult the terrain, they would follow us to the site to express their gratitude along the way. You can see community surrounding the Lantwo site in the picture above.

The picture above is of Gelan 1 water point. All three of the spring had 5,000+ liter reservoirs for water storage. You can see the overflow pipe at the top of the reservoir, so that when it is completely full, water flows without putting back pressure on the spring, which might cause it to re-route itself. In the picture, you can see the local church choir in blue robes, but more about them in a moment.

We meet met with the water committees at each site. The picture above is of two of the women on the water committee at Bakafa Abetu. All of the water committees had completed their training and began immediately to collect a small monthly usage fee from each household to build a maintenance fund for each site. They had also established regular hours for collecting water, 6 am to 9 am in the morning and 4 pm to 6 pm in the afternoon.

The Midakeng district has very low clean water coverage, less than 20% in the areas that we are serving. The magnitude of appreciation and sheer joy over the water projects were demonstrated by all three communities. Shown above is the group enjoying some local bread and awesome coffee with the community members at Bakafa Abetu. There was concern with rain, so our fellowship time together was spent in a tent.

The yield at all three springs is such that it allowed for very helpful add-ons to improve the health and sanitation of the community. Separate cattle troughs have been installed, 50 to 75 yards away from the water points in order to prevent contamination of the project. Also, shown above, men & women’s showers have been installed. Showing a little entrepreneurism, the water committees have decided to charge 1 birr (less than ½ cent) for shower. This will help boost the maintenance fund and insure that water is not wasted.
The celebrations at each project site were moments of sheer joy for all of us. Happy smiling faces, sharing of gratitude and blessings, and warm open expressions of sheer joy with clapping and dancing. But the highlight of the day came at the last project, Gelan 1. As our vehicles arrived, we are greeted by a 20 person youth choir from the local Mekane Yesus congregation. Click on the video below to enjoy a few brief moments of our reception!

Their singing and dancing went on for almost 10 minutes. What a way to end the day!