Education or Water in Ethiopia

Education or water not really a choice for many people in Ethiopia

For people unable to access water within a reasonable distance there is no education. For many living in remote villages in Ethiopia this is often the case – 4myschools teachers and schools are making a difference through continuing donations for water enabling many people to now attend school.

Ethiopian Well care of 4myschools schools and teachers

Ross Allan of Wellwishers Australia wrote the following: “It never ceases to amaze when visiting a village well site. Be it a well that is hoped for, planned, under construction, just completed or built a year or more ago, the welcome received from the village members is always overwhelming.

Sometimes it’s just a few members of the WASHCO (Water, Sanitation and Health Committee), other times it’s a few women and a couple of elders, or it could be everyone in the village with the whole school in attendance. People are just so grateful for clean water. It is a celebration of life for them – a new life; life without water-borne diseases and life that goes past the age of five for their youngsters.

In November 2014, three members of Wellwishers Australia were at a village that had had a well completed less than 2 months earlier care of 4myschools UK. The villagers were totally subsistence farmers in an area that was more than 20 minutes drive from the main road – the only vehicles to enter this area are the hydrologist, technicians and REST supervisors (REST is our Ethiopian Implementation Partner). It was a dry, rocky, elevated and very remote area. The villagers met us with cheers, ululating and Ethiopian flags.

The smiles on the faces of the women, men and children were wide and prevalent. We were taken to the well site which is now a 15 minute walk maximum for the majority of the villagers.

The protective wall surrounding the well was well built, accessed by a lockable gate. A couple of men played local musical instruments and with lots of hand clapping and further ululating, we all
danced together. They asked us to cut a ribbon to “officially open” the well as a symbol of help to the village. There was speech making by priests [all family men], a couple of the women and a
particularly heartfelt thank you from one of the elders.

The most important things to them are the survival of their youngsters; less cost spent on healthcare and the ability for their children to get to school on time) and to actually now go to school). Time and time again they spoke of the fact that people across the seas care about them – they know they are part of a bigger world.

The changes coming to Ethiopia in new road works and other infrastructure are very noticeable. Bringing clean water to rural villagers isolated by lack of roads and electricity, located in deep valleys, far from small towns and markets is a high priority. Great progress has been made, but the need will go on for quite some years. Once villagers have water, it then becomes more and more
obvious that water is needed at schools, health clinics and other community facilities. Wellwishers have much work yet to be done. Thank you for helping make clean water a priority.”

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