Ethiopia Borehole Program
Water Charity is proud to announce our Ethiopia Borehole Program. This is a major initiative to drill new boreholes in the Sidama region of Ethiopia. The program is underway. Click the links near the bottom of this page to read about the projects that are started.
This program is made possible through the partnership of Water Charity and the National Peace Corps Association.
The woredas (counties) to be served by this program are Wondo Genet and Dalle to begin with, and as we can compound upon initial successes, we will expand the program to include other needy areas. Click on the map to the right to expand it. Each well will have its own project (and conclusion) page, which will be linked below. This page will be updated as new projects are started and news from the field comes in.
Given this variety in depth, the difficulty and cost of doing wells in various areas varies tremendously. A 180m deep well is going to cost more per person than a 90m… or 30m well. The areas we have chosen to start this program are neither the hardest nor the easiest regions where this is concerned, but rather represent an area where the need is great, and the infrastructure to get projects done is present and running well.
Ethiopia’s main health problems are said to be communicable diseases caused by poor sanitation and malnutrition. Water and sanitation-related diseases, particularly diarrhea, are among the top causes of death in the country, especially for children under 5. In the woredas where our new wells will be drilled, there are frequent cases of dysentery, giardia, typhoid and other dangerous waterborne illnesses.
The majority of the population consists of subsistence farmers, growing crops such as sugar cane, false banana, coffee, and avocado. The women and children in the communities are responsible for collecting water for their households from unprotected hand dug wells and contaminated ponds. Wells of the kind we will be installing (deep boreholes) provide year-round safe access to water, and will free up many hours of labor.
The focus is to empower women who carry the burden of hauling water and making a living in a paternalistic society and who offer so much promise to transform communities. Communities and trusted partners are invited to participate in each stage of the work in order to create a sense of ownership, responsibility and stewardship. In this way, a framework and support system is established that can provide long-term benefits for individuals and communities.
A Water Use Committee (WUC) has been established for each water point so money can be collected for repairs. This will ensure village participation, sense of ownership, and long term sustainability.
While this ambitious effort to create wells in a very needy region of a very needy country has a major donor already, we encourage everyone interested in helping out to do so. The more money we collect for this program, the more people we can help. This is an opportunity for people to contribute meaningfully to these communities without the massive overhead often associated with such projects.
You can view the individual borehole projects via links at the bottom of this page.
This program falls under our larger, comprehensive East Africa Water & Sanitation Program.