"It took us more than an hour to get back from the river," Ahayazownz Villagers
Ahayazownz Village is found in 09 (Astoya) kebele of Menz Mama Mider Woreda of North Shoa Zone. For decades, the Ahayazownz communities had fetched drinking water from the river called Muatish Areh. Their livestock also drank from the same source.
Farmer Sirgut Wondimu and Talef Kifle remembered the situation. “Fetching water from Muatish Areh brought so many difficulties for the community. It took more than an hour to go back. The topography is also undulating and steep, so women and people with disabilities suffered due to the high energy requirements. The water point is not suitable for fetching, and on average, each household lost more than two jerks. Our girls also faced the risk of sexual harassment because the distance from the village is far. In addition, our children suffered from different waterborne diseases like cholera, diarrhea, giardiasis, and worm infections, and we spent money on treatment".
The village community members said that the problem of safe, potable water had been reported to the woreda water and energy office for a long time. For the first time, the ORDA Ethiopia-CSFNSP II project and woreda Water and Energy organized a meeting with us in January 2022. ORDA Ethiopia project office accepted to construct SPD with the active participation of water users to deliver free labor force and locally available construction materials.
The project constructed 13 different structures that comprise 2 spring eye caps, 2 reservoirs, 4 water points, and 5 cattle troughs. It was transported more than 1600 meters from the source to the farthest water point. CSFNSP II solved the problem of potable water supply, which enabled us to well satisfy the daily demands of family members and livestock while saving time, utensils, and labor. This resolved mainly the problems of elders from injuries and daughters from sexual harassment.
The project constructed 14 potable water supplies (10 SPDs and 4 HDWs) from January 2022 to December 2023. These have been benefiting 2034 (female፡ 1057) individual beneficiaries.