“The way to the water point is safe. I am not afraid to go there alone and collect water whenever I want.”
14-year-old Gojjam lives in the village of Addis Alem which is located in Mankussa Abdogoma, West Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Regional State of Ethiopia. She lives with her father and siblings.
In Ethiopia, especially in rural places like Addis Alem, women and girls are responsible for taking care of the housework. As a result, she does almost all the household chores as well as collecting water. Before our project in Jabi Tehnan, Gojjam used to have to walk 20 minutes every day to collect water from an unprotected spring. The walk was often difficult and dangerous, as the road was prone to becoming extremely wet and slippery. She told us what it used to be like when collecting water:
“My name is Gojjam. I am 14 years old, and I live in Addis Alem village with my father and siblings. I have four brothers and one sister. As my sister is only 4 years old, I am the one who does most of the housework. Before my mother died, I used to help her with the work. But now, I am the one who mainly does the work.
I am the one who collects water for us, every day. Previously, I used to bring water from a spring. It is located far from our house. I had to walk there with other girls. The place is so slippery. Besides, when it rains, there is flooding, and it was very scary for us.
The water that we used to get from the spring was not clean and used to take much of my time. There were many days that I missed school because I became late while I collected water.”
Now Gojjam and the other residents of Addis Alem, have a water point close to home. She only has to walk 5 minutes and knows the water is safe and clean. Here’s how her life has been transformed by access to clean water:
“Now, we get water from the waterpoint which is only five minutes away from our house. If I want, I can get up to 10 jerry-cans of water per day. The water is clean, and it doesn’t take that much time. When school starts, I am sure I won’t be late. The way to the water point is safe. I am not afraid to go there alone and collect water whenever I want.
We make sure the water is protected. We won’t let small children and cattle get into the area where the taps are installed. Since the water makes our life simple, we want to keep it functional.”