Delivering clean water to rural Ethiopians

Construction beginning on the new reservoir

Big Step for Delivering Clean Water to 19,000 Ethiopians

WEEMA’s largest clean water project ever has taken a big step forward, which is good news for thousands of families living in the Tembaro district.

Last month we finalized an agreement with Water Action to take over and finish the construction project that will provide drinking water and healthy sanitation services to just under 19,000 people living in four neighborhoods – Bachira, Bada, Bohe, and Waro. Construction is already well underway and is expected to be completed in nine months.

Once the project is finished, community members will no longer have to walk for hours every day to fetch water from streams and ponds, which are often contaminated. Water collection is usually the job of mothers, girls, and other children – a time-consuming task that often prevents them from going to school and learning other skills. 

New distribution pipelines running from a reservoir and 21 water access points in the four neighborhoods will make it far easier for community members to collect clean water each day.  

The project will also improve water sanitation services and practices. Four public latrines will be installed in key public locations along with 50 new household latrines and 150 more that will be upgraded. Community members and local health extension workers will also be trained to operate the facilities and raise community awareness about clean sanitation practices. Reflecting its support and commitment to project cost-sharing, the community is providing free labor for the effort.

Added together, it’s easy to understand our excitement about this endeavor, which is critical for improving health and living conditions, as well as broader economic development.

Pipes that will bring water from the spring to water points

Delivering better health care to more Ethiopians

Kurabachew Abiyu providing technical support to a health extension worker

Kurabachew Abiyu – Delivering Better Health Care to More Ethiopians  

When he was just a one-year-old child, Kurabachew Abiyu was hospitalized at Jimma General Hospital with a serious illness. He was treated and fully recovered. Then, as a young adult, a close friend developed a software program that tracked patient visits at hospitals.

Those two events had enormous influence in Kurabachew’s career – first his choice to become a healthcare professional and second, his appreciation of technology – whether with software or mobile phones – to improve medical delivery services. He is now utilizing his expertise as WEEMA’s health Program Facilitator.

“When my mother told me that I was severely ill and had to be admitted to the hospital, it made me want to grow up to be a medical doctor,” said Kurabachew, who was born in Oromia but spent most of his childhood in Tembaro.

After graduating from Wolaita Sodo University with a public health degree, he helped run the Ambukuna Health Center in Tembaro. The experience brought him into contact with WEEMA, which was developing a mobile-phone-based medical tool, along with training, to help local health extension workers (HEWs) work more effectively in the field. “I think I was the first person to collaborate with WEEMA on the mHealth project,” said Kurabachew, of the digital tool that is now being used by over 140 health care workers and supervisors across the Tembaro and Hadero districts. 

The mobile-phone tool provides easy-to-use information, including videos, for diagnosing and treating key pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and other common childhood illnesses. Health workers using the tool say it helps them deliver services more quickly and with fewer mistakes - resulting in healthier children.

Today, 18 months into his WEEMA job, Kurabachew has a larger portfolio of responsibilities, including clinics and hospitals, as well as public schools. And his scope of work is broader, ranging from child and maternal healthcare to menstrual health.

Kurabachew couldn’t be happier. “My main source of happiness is to help people,” he says, “so joining WEEMA, an organization that is aiding and empowering needy people, is like a dream becoming perfectly true.”

A New Beginning

A new beginning for 30 students with disabilities

Exciting news! Tembaro’s first inclusive education program is up and running at Mudula Primary School and more than 30 children with disabilities – a mix of boys and girls – are enrolled. All are attending school for the first time now that the teachers and the classrooms can support their learning.

The opening marks the culmination of an extraordinary effort involving community leaders, the local government, teachers, parents, and students – all with a shared vision of giving children with disabilities the same educational opportunities as other children. The Tembaro District has 39 primary schools, but until last month, none were accessible to children with disabilities.

The year-long effort included awareness-raising sessions with local stakeholders about the challenges that children with disabilities face and the wide-ranging benefits of giving them more opportunities – starting with a formal primary education. WEEMA also helped train staff to teach in sign language and support other special needs. The school was also outfitted with wheelchairs,  entrance ramps, special furniture, and other resources to help students who are blind and deaf. 

What a transformation we’ve seen! During a recent visit to the school, English teacher Aleme Wochato was using sign language to teach students the alphabet. A half-dozen students were enthusiastically waving their hands to show what they had learned. In another room, environmental science teacher Alemitu Aweno was using sign language to teach first graders about animals in Ethiopia.

Teachers were especially delighted with the big changes afoot. “Before this year, none of the schools had teachers trained in education methodologies for engaging children with disabilities,” Wochato said. “Now, with support from WEEMA, teachers are trained in the Braille alphabet, sign language, and other skills.  

Judging from their smiles and eager participation in classes as you can see in the photo below, students are also excited about the school’s transformation.

Strategies for achieving community-led development

WEEMA Board member, Habtamu Lamore

Strategies for achieving community-led development

While “community-led development” is gaining traction in the development and humanitarian sectors, putting those words into practice is still a big challenge for many nonprofit groups, philanthropists, and government agencies.

This month, WEEMA board member Habtamu Lamore joined global experts to examine what it takes for organizations to truly achieve community engagement and empowerment – key bedrocks of community-led development – in their day-to-day work. The symposium was organized by the Movement for Community-Led Development, a group of 63 global organizations, including WEEMA International, as well as Save the Children, World Vision, and the Hunger Project.

“The bottom line is authenticity,” said Nancy Wilson, CEO of Relief International, who kicked off the all-day gathering in Washington DC. “If we’re going to say we understand the community and what programs are appropriate for that community, then we have to truly understand the community, not our impressions of the community, but their understanding of themselves. Not our assessment of their needs but their assessment of their own assets and aspirations.”

Bonnie Glick, Deputy Administrator of USAID, echoed the sentiment and referred to the agency’s commitment to fostering self-reliance. “If you’re doing something for other people that they could do themselves, you’re not doing them any favors,” she said. “In fact, you’re probably doing them harm.”

Here are some of the key takeaways of the meeting:

Words Matter: Participants agreed that organizations should be sensitive about not using terms such as “beneficiaries,” that undermine community members’ direct involvement and ownership in projects. Words that show the important role played by community members, such as partners and clients, are preferable.

Let Communities Decide: When communities are given a chance to speak out, participate, and decide on a project, it puts them at the partner level, thus fostering self-reliance and resilience. 

WEEMA’s board member Lamore discussed how WEEMA partners closely with local leaders and other community stakeholders to pursue local solutions for local problems. He emphasized the importance of listening and respecting community voices. Because of poor communications – whether due to poor listening or poor translation – organizations tend to ‘hear’ what they presume the community wants.

Citing WEEMA’s community-led approaches, Lamore suggested working with local leaders and hiring local staff to minimize translation challenges. He suggested relying on multiple sources to ensure that community perspectives are valid. Most important of all, he said, NGOs that deliver long-lasting results will build community trust.

Congratulations to Higa Boarding School!

Three cheers to Higa Boarding School and its students

Kudos to Higa Boarding School in Kembata-Tembaro and the 10th grade students who aced the national exams last June. The test results came back last month and 92 percent of the students – 124 of 135 – received top scores, a key step in completing secondary education and advancing to university-level studies. Even more impressive, Higa was the second highest scoring school in all of Ethiopia.

This is a remarkable achievement for the district’s only boarding school and everyone who has been involved since its launch in 2017. In just two years, the school has added two grades – it now has 9th, 10th and 11th grades. Critical equipment and educational resources have also been added to ensure that students – the region’s best and brightest - have the tools they need to succeed.

Special credit goes to community members, the District Education Department, and the local nonprofit group, Gogota Care, which provided critical support in getting the school - a former university property – off the ground. Roots Ethiopia also deserves praise for its efforts.

WEEMA, which provided computers, textbooks, desks, chairs, and other key resources to the school library and computer center last year, is honored to be part of the success.

We were especially heartened by recent feedback we received from a biology teacher about the equipment upgrades. “The computers and the library improvements had a great impact on the results,” he told us.

Students, teachers and school staff, of course, deserve the biggest applause. Their achievements in such a short time are nothing short of remarkable.