Water Point Development: Top Priority for the Yeku Community

One of the major problems in AMAREW projects at the Yeku and Lenche Dima pilot watershed management intervention sites is the shortage of clean water for humans and livestock. Communities at Yeku have identified water shortage as their primary constraint for integrated watershed development efforts in their watershed.

Typically, women and children of school age, particularly girls, collect drinking water for the family over long distances, whereas boys are responsible to water livestock by collecting leech-free water from distant rivers. This burden of collecting water has meant low school enrollment of children.

For children like Tariku Walelign and friends, drinking leech-free clean water and going to school is a privilege that came with the development of a water point in their village.

The Yeku community recognized water development as a problem and ranked it as a top priority. With support from AMAREW, the community developed water sources, including springs and shallow hand-dug wells. Labor and locally available construction materials such as sand, stone, gravel and water were provided by the community, while the project provided materials not locally available, including cement, reinforcing iron rods, pipes, fittings, and skilled labor.

The Bambaw spring developed in 2005 by the Yeku community is noteworthy. The spring has a spring box with a sand filtering system and a separate water delivery point for humans and livestock, along with a protected washing stand. The spring provides clean potable water for over 200 households and meets the water needs of more than 600 livestock per day.

This spring is managed and operated by a water committee established by the community. Women play a significant role in its management. Moderate water use fees are collected to cover routine maintenance and costs for guards. The contribution of the newly developed spring in terms of reducing the workload for women and children and improving human and livestock health is greatly appreciated by the community. Farmers say, "Now that we have easy and affordable access to clean and piped water from a spring which is leech-free, we can afford to send our children to school."