In developing countries, some people walk for hours to collect their family's daily water supply. The long walk is just the first challenge. If water is scarce, things get harder yet.
First you have to wait … and wait. In rural Ethiopia, some people get water from hand-dug holes. The water seeps slowly into the bottom of the hole. People climb into the holes, one by one, and scoop out the precious liquid. The wait to do this can be long and tedious under the hot sun.
Patience frays. Tempers rise. Things can turn dangerous. "If it's only me, it's no problem," said Gemeda, 42, who lives in a region of Ethiopia where World Vision is working to provide clean water. "When there are hundreds of people waiting, it is a problem." Fighting can erupt – people beat each other with sticks. "There are so many cases of people getting hurt," he told the World Vision team who visited his local water source.
When the team visited in May, there were five water holes in this location, servicing more than 5,000 people every day. As the dry season progressed, the water began to disappear. A week later, only four holes contained water.
Communities here desperately need a locally available source of clean, abundant water. It would transform their lives. Together, we can make this happen
