Mossisa Challa is now employed by the community to operate one of the 11 public water points. His job is to collect a modest fee (2 cents) for each 5-gallon container of water. The money is used for operating costs and to establish a savings fund to make repairs when something breaks. Operating costs include the fuel used to power the pump that fills the community storage tank and a modest stipend to incentivize each tap attendant to open the water point and collect the fees.
Mossisa is very grateful for the new water project. Now his girls can collect water in 5 minutes. They used to spend 1.5 hours collecting dirty water. This gives them time to do other activities around the house and attend school. He notices that his kids are healthier. They aren’t getting diarrhea. Mossisa says even his donkeys are more productive. They used to be tired from carrying water from the river. Now they are rested and ready to work when he needs them to carry something to market.
This water project is progressing on schedule. They are about halfway through construction, and they appear to be on target to start operation in May or June 2013.
Praise God for the gift of clean water for those who so desperately need it!
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