ORDA, AMREF and Water.org to launch a new project

By Esubalew Dires

Collateral agreements signed among ORDA, AMREF and Water.org to launch a new WASH project at Dera District in South Gondar with a total budget of USD 1,043,860. The project will be working on hygiene, sanitation and water developments in Dera district for the coming three years. The joint planning workshop held at Bahir Dar for two consecutive days from 11 -12 July 2015.

Ato Shimelis Muhammed, BDARP, Director at ORDA, in his presentation indicated 80 new water points will be constructed and 20 water schemes will be rehabilitated. He noted water systems provide safe water to 28,795 (14,101 are female) people in Dera district of Amhara Region. According to Shimelis hours taking to fetch drinking water whatever the source is reduced on average from 1:30 hours to 30 minutes and the distance travelling is reduced from 4km to 1.5km and per capita water consumption will be increased from 8l/person/day to 15l/person/day. It’s disclosed that ORDA will strengthen its effort to make an access of potable water to the public.

In the same token, AMREF is also responsible to uplift awareness of the public on hygiene and sanitation, offer trainings to the government and community, create enabling environment and capacity building, strengthening capacity of partners, improved equitable, inclusive and integrated WASH programming and improved WASH knowledge evidence, sharing, adoption and scaling up of best practices are to mention the main ones.

This joint project is expected to enhance the livelihood of the poor in delivering safe drinking water, hygiene and sanitation activities in the district.