Dalle Woreda Well Project #1 – Ethiopia

This project is made possible through the partnership of Water Charity and the National Peace Corps Association.
It is implemented in cooperation with our friends Wine 2 Water.

Location
  Dalle, Sidama Zone, Ethiopia

Community Description
Dale District (Woreda) is located in the southern part of Ethiopia near the major city of Awassa. The people native to this area are the Sidama. The majority of the population in Dale are subsistence farmers; growing crops such as sugar cane, false banana, coffee, and avocado.

Problem Addressed
The women and children in the community are responsible for collecting water for their households from hand dug wells and contaminated rivers. The water sources often cause various illnesses as the water is not protected. The community has experienced typhoid, dysentery, and malaria.

Project Description
This project will involve contracting the Selam Awassa Water Drilling Works & Sanitation PLC, a local company that was donated drilling equipment previously by our friends Wine 2 Water, to drill a deep borehole well, and install an Afridev handpump.  They have already assessed the situation, and are ready to begin drilling, a process which will take 4 days to complete.

This well will have to be over 110 feet deep.  The exact depth will not be known until the team strikes water.  While not extremely deep by Ethiopia standards, boreholes of this depth require expensive drilling equipment and a lot of very specific know-how.  We are fortunate to be working with a group that has done a lot of wells in the region and has a proven, successful track record in providing year-round water supplies to remote areas such as this.

The locals will be taught how to care for their new well, as well as get instruction in sanitation, disease transmission, and general hygiene.

Project Impact
This project will benefit approximately 800 people.

Project Management
Kyle Lomax

Monitoring and Maintenance
The local Waredo (county) government oversees all water development projects, and the national government of Ethiopia also takes a keen interest in borehole projects specifically. The day-to- day care and maintenance of the well will be the responsibility of the villagers themselves. They have already set up a Water Use Committee (WUC) for the purpose of overseeing the needs of the borehole by collecting a small fee from all the households served by the well and holding this money for future repairs and upkeep.

Comments
We will be working in communities where another partner NGO, Water Is Life International, has already been working, and has established Sustainable Living Groups (SLGs) that function like simple savings and credit associations that highlight local potential. Consistent access to clean water, will have the added benefit of increasing the economic wellbeing of the community, and increase their ability to produce crops.  The surplus of their farming efforts will be able to be sold, and thus benefit the entire local economy.

The fact that our friends at Wine 2 Water provided Selam Awassa with a lot of their equipment has made it easier for all who want to do borehole projects in the area.  We are pleased that they have gone out of their way to connect us to Selam Awassa and WiLI, enabling not only this project, but hopefully, many more to come.

This project is second well being done under our new Ethiopia Borehole Program.  It also falls under our large and expanding East Africa Water & Sanitation Program.

Dollar Amount of Project
$7,700

Donations Collected to Date
$7,700

Dollar Amount Needed
$0

This project has been fully funded.
Many thanks to the donor for making this project possible. We encourage anyone who likes what we are doing here to contribute to the programs it falls under (links above).

This project has been completed.  To see the results, CLICK HERE.