Vicky's legacy - water for 20,000
In summer 2010, Adam Chataway and some of Vicky's friends and family went to Lera Town to watch the taps being turned on.
Watch the video and find out more about Vicky's extraordinary legacy:
With clean water now available, this part of the project is over - but you can still do more to help the people of Lera Town free themselves from poverty.
Find out more >>>>
Summer 2009: Mobilising the masses
Vicky’s Water Project has truly succeeded in uniting all the different groups who live in Lera Town and the surrounding areas. Everyone has pulled together to contribute what they can to ensure the success of this project.
There have been financial contributions from people involved at all levels including the regional government, the community - and even the contractors building the project.
Transporting the pipes
The community has been working relentlessly transporting more than 700 pipes up and down incredibly steep terrain. They have delivered all of the required pipes to the project sites, walking an average distance of 1km through mountainous terrain whilst carrying pipes weighing 100kg.
Digging the trenches and laying the pipes
More than 5,000 community members participated in digging trenches for the pipes. They're now in laying the pipes into the trenches; this work is on track to be completed by February 2009. These pipes will connect the spring sources to the reservoirs.
Almost complete...
Construction activities are coming along fantastically - the springs have been capped and there's...
A reinforced concrete reservoir
A guard house
An excavation for a reservoir big enough to hold 150 tons of water
The community is now working on laying and compacting the soil around this.
The success of this collaborative project has been so extraordinary that ActionAid Ethiopia has commissioned an evaluation on the project’s structure and the existing relationships in order to use it as a model for future projects.
Lera Town Fund Update: £42,806 raised so far and a school expanded!
The money raised so far towards the Lera Town Fund is paying to expand a high school in Lera Town by building a new block with 4 classrooms.
Last school year, there were around 90 children in each class. They didn’t have space to get all the children in the classrooms together, so they often divided them into morning and afternoon groups. Children were only getting half of the schooling they should have had.
The new school block is now very close to completio: all that remains are doors and windows. Inside, the ceilings are being put up and, when complete, will be painted, along with the walls. Then the school will be ready for the desks, chairs, blackboard and books which have already been ordered and will be delivered on completion of the classrooms.
The new academic year begins around 15th September, and the new classrooms will be ready by then. The local government has pledged to provide extra teachers to teach in the new classrooms.
Summer 2009: Mobilising the masses
Vicky’s Water Project has truly succeeded in uniting all the different groups who live in Lera Town and the surrounding areas. Everyone has pulled together to contribute what they can to ensure the success of this project.
There have been financial contributions from people involved at all levels including the regional government, the community - and even the contractors building the project.
Transporting the pipes
The community has been working relentlessly transporting more than 700 pipes up and down incredibly steep terrain. They have delivered all of the required pipes to the project sites, walking an average distance of 1km through mountainous terrain whilst carrying pipes weighing 100kg.
Digging the trenches and laying the pipes
More than 5,000 community members participated in digging trenches for the pipes. They're now in laying the pipes into the trenches; this work is on track to be completed by February 2009. These pipes will connect the spring sources to the reservoirs.
Almost complete...
Construction activities are coming along fantastically - the springs have been capped and there's...
A reinforced concrete reservoir
A guard house
An excavation for a reservoir big enough to hold 150 tons of water
The community is now working on laying and compacting the soil around this.
The success of this collaborative project has been so extraordinary that ActionAid Ethiopia has commissioned an evaluation on the project’s structure and the existing relationships in order to use it as a model for future projects.
Autumn 2008: "I feel so happy to see the drilling machine, I already feel as if we have water"
Signing the contract
Having signed the contract on the 8th October, the site was handed over on October 22, 2008 in the presence of representatives from the Silte Zone Water Resources Development Department, West Azernet Berbere Woreda Administrator, the Vicky Women Water Development Association, ActionAid Ethiopia, Azernet Berebere Development Area and the Project Manager.
Re-repairing the road
The first priority was to get construction material onto the site.
The road was repaired some time ago, but due to the heavy rains it was once more in poor condition, so the community, alongside Lera Town High school students, went back to work, repairing about 6km in just 8 days.
Construction Materials Mobilisation
Following on from the site handover and repairing the road, the contractor has been able to move construction material and equipment onto the site. To-date approximately 200 tons of sand and 870 GI pipes, as well as cement and other materials have been brought onto the site.
Drilling the Borehole
We hoped to begin drilling in early November, but the road repairs slightly delayed this. In mid-November, the drilling machine was able to access the site. The Regional Water office provided a hydrogeologist to supervise the drilling process.
Community cultural blessing: "Let the soul of Vicky rest in peace for always"
Before work on site began, the community held a cultural blessing and food ceremony in order to bless the project.
The blessing included the words:
"Let the soul of Vicky rest in peace for always"
At the ceremony one of the women involved, Amzei Awole said;
“I feel so happy to see the drilling machine, I already feel as if we have water”
Project alterations
Due to the rock formation the borehole drilling did not produce the necessary water required for the project and so decision was thus made to utilise the existing borehole as a hand-pump for the nearby town.
However, re-planning has resulted in the identification of 5 nearby spring water sources with a combined output of 7.5 litres per second (well in excess of the 5.75 litres per second that the borehole was expected to produce). Following renegotiation with the contractors, we are now confident that the provision of water to Lera Town and the surrounding villages will more than provide the necessary water identified at the start of the project.
The completion date for Vicky’s Water Project is now March 2010.
The total for Vicky’s Water Project now stands at over £521,000!
Thank you to everyone who has shown their support for the project.
Once the construction work is complete, over 20,000 people in Lera Town and surrounding villages will have access to safe, clean drinking water.
When the seven springs - 5 new and 2 existing - are capped, water will be captured and stored in a reservoir and distributed through pipelines and water kiosks.
Lives will be saved as incidences of diarrhoea, cholera and other fatal waterborne diseases will decline.
Child mortality rates will fall while adults who are currently often sick or too weak to work will become strong and healthy.
Schools will be full of children eager to learn now they no longer have to walk great distances to collect water.
Children – especially girls – are burdened with the exhausting task of collecting water. This has impacted heavily on their attendance at school but with access to water nearby, this is all set to change. They will also be safe in their communities at night and will no longer have to queue to collect water in areas where wild animals are a threat.
With the help of the local communities, who are providing some of the manual labour for the project, we are able to expand on our original plans and improve the lives of even more of the poorest people in Ethiopia.
With the additional funds raised, ActionAid and the Lera Town community now have an unprecedented opportunity to build on what we have already achieved…
For example, more durable materials can be purchased which means distribution pipes will be less susceptible to damage and will last much longer. The reservoir fed by the springs can now be doubled in size to increase the water storage capacity, based on increased water provision which will improve the flow rate of water so more people can collect water each day.
The impact that a clean, accessible water supply will make to the lives of those 20,000 people is huge. With this in mind there is scope to further assist the children, the women and the men of Lera Town in building their futures.
ActionAid’s Lera Town Fund
To continue helping the people of Lera Town, ActionAid have created the Lera Town Fund. Read more.
Visit to Lera Town and Dalocha in Ethiopia
8 - 14 September 2007
Meeting the inspiring people who will benefit from Vicky's Water Project and ensure its success.
These women have been elected by their villages to manage Vicky's Water Project, "We thank all the people who have helped raise funds. We promise to look after this water as we look after our children.”
From right to left Lubaba,Belaynesh, Yeshi, Hadra, Zyada, Murshida, and Elfinesh.
3 physicians, 2 nurses and a philosopher … these are the respective aspirations of Nejafe, Safina, Zabibe, Safiya, Fatiya, and Fatiya who currently go to school (back row from right to left).
As a direct result of the project more girls are likely to attend school and their performance will improve too .
Yelfinesh is the legal advisor for Vicky's Water Project and has received legal training so she now knows to help women claim their rights to water. “To solve these problems women need education” she confidently says.
A view across the valley of the villages which will benefit from Vicky's Water Project.
Leila Mohammed tells us about her struggles for water and how Vicky’s Water Project is going to change life for her and her community:
My name is Leila Mohammed. I live in a village close to Lera Town which is going to benefit from Vicky’s Water Project.
I am twenty-five years old, and a grade 8 student. At the time of writing, I am queuing to collect water. I have been here since two o’clock in the morning. At the moment it is one-thirty in the afternoon: I have spent the whole night here and all I have is twenty litres of water, which will not last my family for more than a day. This means I will have to spend tonight here as well.
None of the women in my village have much time for household tasks because we all have to spend so many hours waiting for water. We spend almost every single night here. In the day you can see the ashes of the fires we make at night, for light and heat. You can only understand our situation if you are here at night. On the way home in the dark, we often have to fight animals for the water.
Some people are here with their children, which means that the children will be late for school. They are always punished for lateness, no matter what the reason. No allowances are made for the need to collect water. I myself will have to miss school today because it is already 1:30 pm.
But water isn’t the only problem we have. While we wait for the water, many women are harassed, abducted or even raped. Just yesterday afternoon, when I came to collect water, a drunken man spotted me. He chased everybody away, took my pot and said I had to fetch him water. I didn’t like the look of him at all. I was so afraid of what might happen to me that I ran away, leaving my pot behind.
But all this will change soon, thanks to Vicky’s Water Project.
My community have worked hard to improve the situation, but without access to the resources we need, our success has been limited. We were delighted when we heard that supporters in the UK could help, and so we worked with ActionAid to design this project.
The money raised by Vicky’s Water Project will help up to 20,000 men and women living in and near to Lera Town benefit from a supply of clean water. This means that the number of diseases caused by the water will reduce greatly, and because the water will be more available, I and students like me will be able to spend more time at school. I will no longer be afraid of the wild animals at night, because I will not need to spend the night queuing here.
The money you collect will go towards paying for pipes, pumps and water points, which will bring the water closer to our homes and villages, and reduce the distance we have to travel with our heavy load. And you will help us to buy cattle troughs, which will enable our livestock to drink the run-off water, so nothing will go to waste.
Whatever the amount, you can be sure it will transform our lives in Lera Town – and for this I would like to thank you.
"I CAME AT 5 IN THE MORNING, IT IS ONLY NOW AT 2PM THAT I GET MY TURN"
Jemila Ibrahim is 40 and a mother of three. She lives in Duna, a village with 996 families. On the day this photo was taken she told ActionAid Ethiopia’s staff, “I have been here since 5am in the morning. As I was late getting here, I won’t get my turn now until after 2pm.”
Most people started queuing for water at midnight, including her own relatives. But she was unable to come at that time because her husband was not around to accompany her. She continues,
“There are many problems, beasts and human beasts in the village, therefore, I would not be daring to expose myself.”
She stresses that there are many court cases related to rape and abduction in this area. Most of them happened in the night while women and girls were collecting water for their households.
“Some times men harass us. We may back out of fetching water because we fear being raped if we dare to do so. What hardens our problem, besides the absence of water, is that as women we have huge household responsibilities, children and husbands are waiting for food. We have to prepare coffee, we are responsible for cattle, I am thinking for my own children who have not had their breakfast today and already lunch time is almost over.”