HOPE International has been working in the Derashe Special Woreda (administrative district) of Southern Ethiopia for 10 years.

In 1985, HOPE began a comprehensive water resource development program. Our first projects included drilling water wells for villages located in the parched plains of Southern Ethiopia.

In 1994, the project was expanded to include spring capping and water distribution systems. Today, more than 50,000 Ethiopians have access to clean water as a result of the spring capping projects completed to date, and in percentage terms, the proportion of people in the Derashe Special Woreda (region) in southern Ethiopia has better water access coverage than Addis Ababa. Combine this with the ongoing water well drilling and the result is impressive - thousands of Ethiopians now have access to abundant supplies of clean water.  Having a local supply of clean water literally transforms lives.

Every year, thousands upon thousands of Ethiopians die from diseases associated with drinking dirty water. Children drink water taken from the same muddy ponds where cattle bathe and urinate. Mothers walk up to four hours a day in search of water for cooking and bathing; water that is always contaminated. Drinking this water can infect a person with deadly diseases like cholera or dysentery. Yet day in an day out, families use the water because they simply have no other options. The best way to lower the incidence rates of deadly, water-borne diseases is to provide a lasting supply of clean, safe drinking water.

HOPE works with local communities, who provide the labour to install, manage and maintain gravity-fed water supplies taken from springs at higher altitude to their villages.  In many cases, the installation of a village's water supply begins with villagers building a road by hand, so that HOPE's truck can access the area with supplies. While the system is being installed, HOPE health & sanitation workers are active in the villages, training women in primary health care, sanitation, family planning and water use.  A key aspect of all HOPE projects is longevity. We want to ensure that your contribution continues to benefit needy families for years after you have made your gift, and HOPE's research shows that communit-led projects of this type, while more expensive than quick installations by specialist organizations, have a far longer life-span, because of the involvement of and ownership by the community.