This entry is the third of several from Jim Goering, who, with his wife Shirley, joined Water to Thrive in Ethiopia in June. In two multi-year postings in Ethiopia, first as an economic advisor from Harvard University and then as an official of the World Bank, Goering gained extensive experience in the country and brings this perspective to bear on Ethiopia’s economic and social situation as well as on the work of Water to Thrive. This entry, recapping the trip and looking at the needs of rural villages, was preceded by his overview of Ethiopia’s economic position and of the nation’s water issues, and will be followed by recommendations for the ongoing work of Water to Thrive.

The NGO Charity:Water has estimated that in Ethiopia, most rural families survive on about five liters of water per day, with family members (almost always the women and girls) walking up to four hours each day to collect this essential commodity from unprotected sources (and at considerable risk of sexual abuse during the walk). The risk of major infectious diseases is judged to be “very high,” due in large part to the prevalence of water-borne diseases, of which typhoid fever looms relatively large. This factor has particular relevance to the W2T program to expand safe water supplies in rural areas.

Other significant benefits of domestic water supply programs can be identified. Less time spent by women in collecting water for domestic use provides more time for the no less essential tasks of nurturing children, assisting them with schooling, and engaging in other economically valuable household tasks such as home gardening and poultry rearing. Safe water enhances child health and improves school attendance—a valuable benefit in the view of one school principal met during our field visits.

Our group for these visits was led by Dick Moeller, the founder of W2T, and assisted by executive director Susanne Wilson. Although the major purpose of our visit was to review on-going village water projects in northern and southern Ethiopia, with a view to giving participants an understanding of the W2T model and fostering interest in financing expansion of the program, the trip also included visits to historical and cultural sites for which Ethiopia is well known, including the magnificent stone churches of Lalibela and the 3rd- and 4th-century steles of the Axumite Kingdom in the north. In the more verdant southern areas of the country, the group visited the Mursi tribal area, saw the magnificent agricultural terraces of the Konso people, and were exposed to village life among the enset-eaters, viz., the Sidama people, in the lovely central and southern highlands.

In terms of impressions and conclusions, I begin with an overwhelmingly positive view of what I saw and heard during our visits to well sites and in subsequent discussions in the vehicles or around the evening meals. The overall W2T program seems well-conceived, with a focus on developing strong relationships with both funding and implementing partners.

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the Achilles heel of many well-intentioned well-drilling projects around the world is inadequate attention to the critical issue of sustainability. Water to Thrive deserves particular commendation for its emphasis on creating a strong institutional framework to foster sustainability over the several years of service of each developed water point. This includes proper training of maintenance staff, creation of a dedicated Water Committee, and buy-in of the initiative by local governments. For future program design, there might be merit in carrying out a survey to determine how many of the W2T water projects remain functional after five or even 10 years. 

Permit me to indulge in a bit of economic philosophizing on this point! The issue of sustainability of a water well installation bears some relationship to the economic concept of “the tragedy of the commons.” The term denotes a situation where individuals act independently and rationally according to self-interest (individual users of the well), but whose behavior is contrary to the best interest of the whole group by depleting some common resource (misusing or abusing a fully-functional well). The challenge of ensuring sustainability of the well is to ensure that the well is neither seen nor treated as a common resource with ill-defined ownership, but instead is seen as belonging with equal commitment to every user, ensuring buy-in from every individual involved.

 

This entry is the third of several from Jim Goering, who, with his wife Shirley, joined Water to Thrive in Ethiopia in June. In two multi-year postings in Ethiopia, first as an economic advisor from Harvard University and then as an official of the World Bank, Goering gained extensive experience in the country and brings this perspective to bear on Ethiopia’s economic and social situation as well as on the work of Water to Thrive. This entry, recapping the trip and looking at the needs of rural villages, was preceded by his overview of Ethiopia’s economic position and of the nation’s water issues, and will be followed by recommendations for the ongoing work of Water to Thrive.

The NGO Charity:Water has estimated that in Ethiopia, most rural families survive on about five liters of water per day, with family members (almost always the women and girls) walking up to four hours each day to collect this essential commodity from unprotected sources (and at considerable risk of sexual abuse during the walk). The risk of major infectious diseases is judged to be “very high,” due in large part to the prevalence of water-borne diseases, of which typhoid fever looms relatively large. This factor has particular relevance to the W2T program to expand safe water supplies in rural areas.

Other significant benefits of domestic water supply programs can be identified. Less time spent by women in collecting water for domestic use provides more time for the no less essential tasks of nurturing children, assisting them with schooling, and engaging in other economically valuable household tasks such as home gardening and poultry rearing. Safe water enhances child health and improves school attendance—a valuable benefit in the view of one school principal met during our field visits.

Our group for these visits was led by Dick Moeller, the founder of W2T, and assisted by executive director Susanne Wilson. Although the major purpose of our visit was to review on-going village water projects in northern and southern Ethiopia, with a view to giving participants an understanding of the W2T model and fostering interest in financing expansion of the program, the trip also included visits to historical and cultural sites for which Ethiopia is well known, including the magnificent stone churches of Lalibela and the 3rd- and 4th-century steles of the Axumite Kingdom in the north. In the more verdant southern areas of the country, the group visited the Mursi tribal area, saw the magnificent agricultural terraces of the Konso people, and were exposed to village life among the enset-eaters, viz., the Sidama people, in the lovely central and southern highlands.

In terms of impressions and conclusions, I begin with an overwhelmingly positive view of what I saw and heard during our visits to well sites and in subsequent discussions in the vehicles or around the evening meals. The overall W2T program seems well-conceived, with a focus on developing strong relationships with both funding and implementing partners.

It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the Achilles heel of many well-intentioned well-drilling projects around the world is inadequate attention to the critical issue of sustainability. Water to Thrive deserves particular commendation for its emphasis on creating a strong institutional framework to foster sustainability over the several years of service of each developed water point. This includes proper training of maintenance staff, creation of a dedicated Water Committee, and buy-in of the initiative by local governments. For future program design, there might be merit in carrying out a survey to determine how many of the W2T water projects remain functional after five or even 10 years. 

Permit me to indulge in a bit of economic philosophizing on this point! The issue of sustainability of a water well installation bears some relationship to the economic concept of “the tragedy of the commons.” The term denotes a situation where individuals act independently and rationally according to self-interest (individual users of the well), but whose behavior is contrary to the best interest of the whole group by depleting some common resource (misusing or abusing a fully-functional well). The challenge of ensuring sustainability of the well is to ensure that the well is neither seen nor treated as a common resource with ill-defined ownership, but instead is seen as belonging with equal commitment to every user, ensuring buy-in from every individual involved.