Clean Water, Brighter Futures: LIFE Brings Relief to Thousands in Rural Ethiopia

In June 2024, the Ministry of Water and Energy in Ethiopia announced that a growing number of residents now have access to clean water. Seventy-two million Ethiopians currently have access to potable water, according to State Minister Asfaw Dingmo.

Sadly, that shows that 30% – some 40  million people – still don't have access. 

According to research by UNICEF, this lack of clean water has resulted in diarrheal diseases being the second leading cause of death for children under the age of five, which means over 25,000 children in Ethiopia die from these preventable illnesses each year. Millions of people are sickened with waterborne diseases, especially in rural areas, and require medical treatment, and thousands of other health emergencies occur from the lack of basic sanitation and hygiene.

In December 2024, thanks to a partnership between Life for Relief and Development (LIFE) five new shallow-water wells with hand pumps opened in Wooble Center, Shabeeley District, Ethiopia. These wells now provide clean, safe, and reliable water to over 450 households, that’s 2,487 people, including more than 750 children.

For families like Hinda Mahmud’s, the difference is life-changing.

Hinda resides in Wooble Center with her husband and five children. She, like most other women in rural Ethiopia, must fetch water for her family. Before the wells were constructed, this was a task that took up as much as two-thirds of her day as she trekked long distances to get water from a contaminated river. This river water caused chronic diarrhea and other illnesses, especially in young children, throughout her community.

Hinda shared that every day felt like a battle for her. Hinda had no time left to rest, to care for her children properly, or to think about anything else. All of this effort was for water from a contaminated river that was ultimately making her and her family sick.

Now, with a shallow well and hand pump in her own village, things are different.

They now have clean water closer to home. Her children are healthier, and she finally has time to cook, help with school, and even consider starting a small garden.

The effect of this project extends well beyond health. With clean water now readily available, women and children no longer have to walk long distances to find it, kids can stay in school longer, and women can focus on raising their families, launching small businesses, and taking a more active role in community life.

Constructing water wells in rural communities like Wooble Center enables them to advance and prosper by lessening the demand for strenuous and time-consuming water collection and protection from preventable waterborne illnesses, like cholera and diarrhea. This creates communities living in healthy and resilient environments. The entire village benefits.

To all the donors who funded it, thank you. You didn’t just fund wells. You provided health, dignity, time, and hope to families.