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Stories from Ethiopia: Meet Bizuayehu

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“I am living a happy life! With the water that is installed near our house, I can now use my time effectively, look after my family’s hygiene and be energetic. This is what I was looking for and I am more than happy because I witness this.”

45 year old mother of 5 Bizuayehu, has been living in Addis Alem village in the Mankussa Abdogoma Kebele for almost 25 years. For as long as she can remember, the people of Addis Alem have faced a water crisis. Alongside the countless mothers living in this rural area, she walked for 20 minutes everyday to collect unclean water from a nearby spring. Herself, her husband and her children, need 8 jerry cans of water daily to stay hydrated, complete chores and keep themselves clean - Bizuayehu was only able to collect and carry 3.

Now, life without access to clean water is a distant memory for Bizuayehu and her family, as well as everyone else in the Jabi Tehnan coffee growing community.

Bizuayehu told us about the new taps near her home have transformed her life:

“Like most women in our area, I am responsible for taking care of the household chores. Cleaning the house, cooking, and collecting water is what I do every day. The most tiresome of all the chores was collecting water.

I used to walk for about 20 minutes to the nearest spring almost every day. The water was not clean. Besides, I couldn’t support my husband with the farm work as collecting water takes most of my time. My children used to get sick with water born illnesses and I often used to take them to the health post. Since the water source is far, my daughters were always late for their classes.

Currently, I collect tap water near our house. It only takes me five minutes to do so. In addition, the water is clean and available whenever we want it. For my household, we need 8 jerrycans of water per day and now we can get that. My daughters can now be at school on time and focus on their education as we are living a healthy life. I can wash their clothes as frequently as needed now. I am also helping my husband with some of the farm work as I have enough time to do that.

I am living a happy life! With the water that is installed near our house, I can now use my time effectively, look after my family’s hygiene and be energetic. This is what I was looking for and I am more than happy because I witness this.

I am a member of the women’s development association. We make sure the water taps are working properly and are safely managed. We teach our children to stay away from the taps and keep the cattle away as the same time. We are very lucky to have this facility in our village and we will keep it safe as much as we can.”