Lessons From Ethiopia

The United Nations World Water Day was marked quietly yesterday. Kenyans can probably be forgiven for being cynical. They have seen an old promise of "Water for all by the year 2000" come and go.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), 1.1 billion people across the world lack access to adequate clean water.

Part of the problem is that we have not learn how to properly share the available water. Another is that we have been slow in harnessing water and making it available for those in need.

We have seen in many parts of the country how lack of water can lead to inter communal violence.

Perhaps we can learn a lesson from our neighbours. The Ethiopian Rainwater Harvesting Association has just won international recognition for a project to provide clean water to a vulnerable community in the southern part of the country.

The Borana people, who traverses across the border into Kenya, are largely dependent on open water sources of unreliable quality, responsible for diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and a high child mortality rate.

The award-winning project aims to improve water availability for household activities and small-scale production by harvesting rain water. Sand dams and storage tanks will be set up to provide access to reliable clean water for more than ten rural communities.

The project was cited for being practical and cost effective, especially for employing simple and straightforward technology. It also actively involving the local people. That's a valuable lesson we could learn.