The flow of opportunity

The new generator will provide electricity to Dogoma; the latest development brought about by the village water supply.

Credit: WaterAid / Carlos Reyes-Manza

Dogoma near Gonder in northern Ethiopia is a typical rural Ethiopian village with around 700 homes. But while it is typical in terms of its isolated location, something very special has happened here.

Five years ago WaterAid and its local partner the Ethiopian Orthodox Church met with the villagers.Together they drew up a plan to provide water and sanitation to the village. A nearby spring was capped, a pump was installed and water was pumped to a newly dug reservoir. From here a gravity flow pipe network feeds water into five separate water points in the village.

A local water committee was established under Chairman Desi Sagaya, 46, and training in hygiene and sanitation management was given to all. All of the villagers who can afford to have been paying a regular sum for the water they collect, while those who can't afford to get the water for free. The money generated has been enough to maintain as well as expand the scheme.

Excess water from the spring and another one nearby is now channelled to the fields for irrigation so that villagers can grow crops throughout the year. A shower has been set up to use excess water at the pumping house, while latrines have caught on in a big way and most families now have their own.

The next water development plans for Dogoma include five new shower blocks for the village and a new tap for a growing area of the village up above the spring. But perhaps the most stunning development is the acquisition of an electric generator, purchased from surplus money from the water supply revenue, that will bring electricity to all the homes and businesses of Dogoma for the first time.

It is often said that provision of water and sanitation is the first step out of poverty and Dogoma is testament to this. The whole village has prospered with trade, commerce and agriculture all benefiting from the access to water and now electricity that it has brought.

Children are now free to go to school and health problems have been cut dramatically. Dogoma is fast becoming a beacon for the neighbouring villages who all want to follow in its footsteps and its prosperity.