About Us - Our Model
Clean water offers villagers a far healthier and safer way of life
In 2005, A Glimmer of Hope will fund the construction of more than 1,000 water projects throughout Ethiopia and while many lie in drought-prone areas where a shortage of water is the main issue, others are address a different need.
For Fatiya Bashir, who lives 440 miles northwest of Addis Ababa in the Beneshangul-Gumuz Region, the main water related issue for her and her neighbors has always been one of health.
Among other maladies, it was not uncommon for Fatiya to have to take her children to the local clinic to have leeches removed from their throats.
Fatiya’s village of Tongo has a population of 2,680 people and, until recently, it had suffered greatly from a lack of potable water. The residents drew water from springs which are in most cases were not protected or capped.
“Our children suffered from all kinds of diseases they got from the spring water as we had no alternative in the past,” Fatiya said.
“Livestock, draught animals and cattle all drank from the same water so our children were always sick and had to be taken to a nearby clinic time after time. And, the water that accumulated around the springs was a major breeding ground for mosquitoes that caused malaria.”
Fatiya often had to take her children to the clinic to be treated for leeches, parasites or amoeba they had ingested. They had trouble gaining weight and missed a lot of school due to illness.
Today, however, the situation is much improved in Tongo thanks to the construction of two hand-dugs wells sponsored by A Glimmer of Hope.
Fatiya’s children are healthier and happier than ever as they are gradually gaining more weight and making it to more classes. In fact, the wells have greatly reduced the incidence of waterborne diseases throughout the village.
The wells have also helped resolve another “health” related issue – one of safety. As farm animals were not the only ones to frequent the water source, Fatiya and her friends had to be constantly on their guard against hyenas, foxes and other wild animals. Today, as the wells are located in the township, the wild animals are staying away.
The wells work by keeping underground water contained all the way from the source to the faucet. Parasites and other disease causing organisms do not exist in underground water.
Another benefit of the new wells is their locations. In the past, Fatiya would have to walk at least 30 minutes to reach the nearest spring and then wait in line for her turn to get a jar of dirty water.
She used to spend a lot of time drawing water from the spring which would sometimes run dry.
“I would leave my children in the care of the neighborhood and walk three times a day to the spring,” she said.
“I wasted a lot of time just to draw dirty water because I had no alternative.”
The villagers pay approximately one cent for a jar of potable water and they are able to draw from the wells three times a day. The money they contribute is used for cleaning around the well and minor maintenance. The wells were constructed for a total of $6,359 meaning every man, woman and child in Tongo was helped for approximately $2.40 each. As generations pass, thousands more will benefit and prosper from drinking safe, clean water.
