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WaterCan's
Program Director Visits Projects in Africa
by George Yap, Program Director
In May 2002, I travelled to Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Uganda to monitor and evaluate the progress of several water and sanitation projects supported by WaterCan.
In Ethiopia, I met with representatives of CPAR-Ethiopia, our local partner, to discuss the progress of the Debati Community-Based Water and Sanitation Project. Debati District in western Ethiopia is a bone-jarring two-day journey by four wheel drive over some of the most rugged and mountainous land in Africa. In order to cross the massive Blue Nile Gorge, a geological marvel that is comparable to the Grand Canyon in the United States, one follows a road that drops by more than a kilometre in elevation. Because road conditions to and within Debati District are so poor, well construction and spring protection activities are restricted to the dry season, which usually lasts from October to February. During the main rainy season – approximately July to September – rural roads become impassable muddy ruts. As an indication of the importance of clean water to people in the Debati District, several villages take the initiative to clear and fix stretches of feeder roads so that field staff and their equipment can reach their communities.
Another important objective of my trip to Africa was to meet with prospective new local partners and identify new projects. In Ethiopia, for example, I travelled to Bachoo District, located three hours southwest of Addis Ababa, and visited the field activities of a promising local organization. I learned that it is common for women and girls in the district to walk more than 10 to 20 kilometres – a two to four hour round trip – to collect 20 litres (20 kilograms) of water from polluted rivers and streams. While I was speaking with a group of women sitting by a mud-walled grain mill located on an exposed plain, one woman explained to me that their lack of water made the washing of mothers and children after birth very difficult. Some areas of the district do have traditional wells – 30 to 40 metre-deep hand-dug pits that are covered with a timber-mud platform. I saw several boys hauling water using a bucket and rope system. These wells, however, are susceptible to problems of contamination, and often dry out during the dry season.