Southeastern Ethiopia

In rural Ethiopia, the Voss Foundation joins CHF International to diversify livelihoods and increase access to safe water for more than 100,000 beneficiaries. Voss Foundation’s participation allows CHF to expand its ongoing program to include access to safe drinking water, community education and outreach in villages and local schools. With partners Walt Disney Foundation and USAID/OFDA, the Voss Foundation helps provide for immediate water needs, improved hygiene practices, and mitigation of future drought impacts by creating more reliable and localized water sources. Voss Foundation and CHF focus their program to identify and pilot innovative, pragmatic solutions that will provide long-term water of improved quantity and quality for vulnerable populations.

Voss Foundation’s participation enables expansion of the program to include three additional rural villages with large pastoral communities through the provision of new wells with rope and washer pumps. 

To ensure the long term sustainability and maintenance of the water access points, committees of local villagers will be established to train the communities in sanitation, health and water management. By targeting village-level water access, this program will have an exponential impact on women and children – whose primary household function is linked to food utilization and water procurement. By ensuring that water access points are free from livestock contamination and are in close proximity to the village, not only are health risks minimized by enhanced sanitation but women are also able to participate in potential income-generating activities through reduced domestic chores. 

As children are particularly affected by lack of water or contaminated sources, innovative mechanisms for water and training will be implemented in schools including working on gardening and other water management training.  The impact of project activities will benefit households in the communities by reducing time and effort spent by women and children on the collection of water.  Accessing water sources closer to families’ community reduces the time and effort of transporting water, and increases security and safety of women and girls in particular, as it will reduce or eliminate distances travelled in remote or unknown areas.  Additionally, as water supply and food security are directly linked, time devoted to water collection and water-borne illness severely reduces time available for productive agricultural or income creating activities.  One result is that children are often prevented from attending school in order to assist their families in these activities.

The Voss Foundation’s work in Ethiopia is funded by the Sammen for Vann / Together for Water and GIve A Drop campaigns.