Mihiret's story

Mihiret pictured outside her house with her daughter called Mesela, whose name means ‘the same face as me.’

Credit: WaterAid / Caroline Irby

Can you imagine drinking water from a source, shared with animals, that makes the village children sick and die? How would you feel if, when suffering with diarrhoea and stomach ache, you were too scared to go to the toilet in the open at night because of the hyenas?

This is what life was like in Senaele, Ethiopia, before the community worked with WaterAid's partner the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to tap a spring and build a safe water supply. Here Mihiret G-Maryam, the water guard in the village, enthuses about what life is like three years on.

"Before we had the water point we used the unprotected source for our water supply. We now have pure, clean and beautiful water so we don't like to recall what it was like before. The water used to be very smelly, however now the water is odourless and we collect it without hesitating.

Before we were exposed to parasitic diseases and the cattle had lots of leeches and so they died. Lots of cattle died before, we are not sure how many. Now no cattle die.

I have two grand-daughters (aged three and four) and two grand-sons (aged nine and 14 years) who all live in the village. We all live in the same household, me and my four grandchildren. My daughter lives in the village with her husband in another household.

“I wash everything every day – just look at the cattle trough over here – it is shining like glass because I know it is important to keep it and the area clean!” says Mihiret.

Credit: WaterAid / Caroline Irby

Some children died in the village before we had the water point, probably from water-related diseases. I lost three grand-daughters and two grandsons before from water-related diseases - they were aged between three and eight years old. They all had diarrhoea.

Now our grandchildren are much healthier, they have no stomach pains and no diarrhoea, it is much better. My eldest grandchild goes to school and the others will go too when they are older.

My role is to guard the water point and also to wash the cattle trough and clean the environment around the clothes washing troughs and water points. The water point is the centre point of the village now since it was built three years ago. 200 households use it.

We charge the villagers one birr (6p) per month to collect the water. The villagers who live far away do not pay anything because they are too poor. We have discussed this many times with the water and sanitation committee but still they do not pay, they use it for free.

I am paid 50 birr per month and the rest of the money goes in the local bank and is kept for maintenance and repairs. If something went wrong I would inform the water and sanitation committee. Two months ago the main controlling water valve broke so the committee discussed this, bought a new one and fixed it.

There are six water and sanitation committee members; three men and three women who meet twice a month. I am not a committee member, I am the guard. Before I became the guard I did housework and farm work. I was chosen by the community to be the water guard because I have experience and know all the villagers.

I have had a latrine for one year now and all my grandchildren use it as well as myself. Our water and sanitation committee told us about the importance of using a latrine to keep our environment clean.

I built the latrine by myself because it is simple using local materials. It took me a month to build it. We have 40 or 50 latrines in the village now I think.

Now we have a very clean environment. Before there were faeces everywhere and it was horrid to see as well as being unhealthy. We can now go to the latrine whenever we need to. Before we used to worry about our privacy, it was very hard for the women.

I had to walk a very long way in order to find a hidden area and I had a horrible stomach ache. Before we were afraid of the wild animals, the hyenas, so even if we needed to go and had big stomach cramps we wouldn't ever go at night. Now I can go every second, every minute if I need too! There are no more stomach aches.

I take a jug of water when I use the latrine and I wash my hands after using it and it is routine for my grandchildren to do this too now, apart from the youngest two. I will teach them to do this when they are older in order to be healthy and to have healthy stomachs.

The water and sanitation committee members visited us at home and taught us behaviour like this. They also taught us how to protect and use our water point properly and how to look after and keep the clothes washing trough, cattle trough and compounds clean.

The committee taught us to construct latrines and to wash our faces, bodies, hair and clothes. We learn all these things when we go to church as well. What's better? - wearing clean clothes or not? Before we didn't wear clean clothes, now we do!

Now we are happy and have a very great advantage from the hygiene lessons because we are much healthier now. God makes me happy and lively and keeps me in high spirits. I wash everything every day - just look at the cattle trough over here - it is shining like glass because I know it is important to keep it and the area clean!"