Access to Clean Water Playing a Significant Role in Girls’ Education

‘‘One early morning, I woke up before dawn, carried an empty jerrycan, and left home at 5:30 AM. Due to the chilly weather, my teeth were chattering so much, but I withstood it and kept walking,’’ says Tesfashwerk, a 17-year-old schoolgirl.

Wrapped up in thoughts and struggling with the gust, Tesfashwerk reached a waterpoint, waited in the queue, and drew water. She carried 25 litres of water-filled jerrican on her back and walked home, but she could not make it to school on time. 

Tesfashwerk travelled 30 minutes each time to get to Ballesa Waterpoint, waited in a long queue for 30 more minutes to draw water, and treaded home. Upon arrival, she put down the jerry can, picked up her hand-sewn schoolbag, and readied to start another walk to school, skipping breakfast. That was a habitual action she took during her school days. Although Tesfashwerk faced hardship, she stood first in her class with a total of 64 students.

World Vision, which is resolutely advocating for children’s well-being, was determined to phase in the area and solve the prolonged issues. In 2017, it funded pipeline construction, which consists of 14 water points at which 20,000 rural people, including two primary schools, have been connected to supply schemes.

In April 2023, a water point was installed in Tesfashwerk’s village, Kelada, a few minutes walk from her home. ‘‘I was very pleased when I found pure water at a close range,’’ she giggles uncontrollably. Lemo Area Programme constructed the water point that currently serves 1,350 community members. “The safe water shortage will no longer be a part of my life anymore,’’ she declares, breathing a sigh of relief. And added, ‘‘I feel short of words to express my gratitude to World Vision for making this happen. Simply put, I am overjoyed by the generosity,’’ flashing an unprecedented smile.

Although the provision of safe water heralded good news for Tesfashwerk and her village community, she still had unsolved issues. There were no adequate facilities in her school, Lisana Sena Junior Senior. The available ones were not adequate and gender-aggregated. “It was a big challenge for me and my fellow girls,’’ she says. She, thus, skipped classes for three consecutive days while on menstruation as her parents could not afford to provide her with sanitary pads. When asked by her parents why she stayed home when class was in progress, she replied with a logical fallacy. “I told them I had had headache pain, which was not the case. I was furious at missing classes and, at times, exams. That was disappointing,’’ she vented her anger in exasperation. Knowing Tesfashwerk’s intelligence, her teachers arranged for her extra exams, and to their surprise, she excelled once more.

Because of the unmet dire needs, World Vision built gender-segregated latrines, including menstrual hygiene management rooms and shower rooms. She could not believe her eyes. ‘‘I watched such beautiful blocks only on the television screen, not in real life. I found it a miracle when World Vision provided them for us. I believe God is with us in our sorrow. Every tear from our eyes was wiped away,’’ says Tesfashwerk with mixed emotions.

In Ethiopia, in general and the Lemo district of Hadiya zone in particular, women and girls are responsible for providing water for their families in the absence of adequate WASH facilities. Girls’ attendance and school performance were thus negatively affected. World Vision has changed the course of history once and for all, thanks to the local sponsorship initiative, the Covenant Kids. ‘‘The lessons I learned from the sanitation and hygiene training offered by the organisation are so vital that it has brought me a behavioural change, and I am sharing them with my siblings and neighbours’ kids,’’ Tesfashwerk concludes.

Tesfawerk no longer wakes before daybreak, walks a long distance, and gets tired. Her dream to become a pilot is imminent. If it comes true, she may be the second female to fly an aircraft in the country. That is how World Vision’s child-focused intervention inspires generations of the future to dream of aviation science.

By Tamiru Chewaka, Editorial Specialist, World Vision Ethiopia