World Water Day is this Thursday. (There sure are a lot of 'Days' to pay attention to!) Check out this video published by the U.N. on World Water Day.
Africa Water and Life is passionate about helping the Arsi Oromo of Southern Ethiopia access clean, safe water. We share that passion with many other organizations who've been working to do the same around the world for many years. We value the attention the United Nations brings to issues like access to water. But is access to water threatened by wasted food? Well, in Ethiopia, only 1.5% of available water is used for irrigation. How one diagnoses a problem determines how they find a solution. Wasting food is not necessarily a good idea and over-consumption is poor stewardship of the resources God gave us. But it has little to do with the water crisis in Ethiopia.
That is why supporting the Self-Help Group program is so critical to our mission. The SHG's foster concept that local resources exist to address local challenges - like lack of water. And since every community is different, including its water sources, the SHG facilitators intentionally avoid telling members how they should solve their problems. The abundance of water in Ethiopia is proof-positive that resources are available to be cultivated for the good of the community. Africa Water and Life will evaluate new water projects to support when we visit Ethiopia next month. In the meantime, we remain committed to the life-giving process of the Self-Help Groups.
