A Glimmer of Hope Foundation

Ethiopia

A Glimmer of Hope’s approach to implementing water and sanitation projects is unique because it includes the benefitting communities in the process from site selection all the way through to operation and maintenance.

In addition to helping identify needy areas and optimal sites, members of the communities are included in the construction process. They provide volunteer unskilled labor and locally available construction materials in addition to any other support that may be required.

While construction is taking place, Water and Sanitation committees are selected and trained to take over the operation and maintenance of the project once it is completed. This helps ensure sustainability and efficiency over the lifespan of the project.

The lack of access to improved water supplies is a huge problem in Ethiopia with more than 80 percent of all disease being attributed to dirty water and poor sanitation. In rural parts of the country, where A Glimmer of Hope focuses its efforts, just one in three people have access to clean water while just 13 percent has access to adequate sanitation services.

At any given time, more than half of the country’s population of 80 million people is suffering from an unnecessary water-related disease. More than 250,000 children under the age of five die each year from diarrhea.

People do their laundry and bathe in the same places that they water their animals and get their drinking water. Latrines are virtually non-existent in rural communities with defecation taking place in fields, bushes or along drainage ditches. A simple long-drop latrine can radically reduce the amount of fecal matter that gets into the water supply.

Increasingly, A Glimmer of Hope is funding multi-purpose water projects that include components such as: protected faucets for drinking water; showers; latrines; basins for washing clothes, dishes and utensils; and, separate drinking troughs for animals. Beyond the issues of health, poor access to clean water also has a detrimental impact on development. In particular, water scarcity severely affects the lives of women as female family members are traditionally responsible for water collection.

Collecting water is a back-breaking chore that saps women’s energy, diminishes their health and restricts their involvement in productive activities and community affairs.

Most women in rural Ethiopia spend hours a day collecting water from distant and polluted sources. Many girls never get an opportunity to go to school because the responsibility of collecting enough water to keep their families alive takes precedence.