“When we were dependent on the manual borehole, women in the village had to wake up early because the process of fetching water was slow, but now there are faucets nearby, and people can get water at any time. When users have no money when they need water, we register their names and allow for them to pay when they have the money. However, if a community member is completely unable to pay, we sit as a committee to decide how to help. This applies to the elderly, sick and very poor in the community.” he said.

According to Teykanto Gelebo, another member of the committee, the water point now serves more than 20,000 people from five villages, so the water yield is not sufficient. The water reservoir capacity is only 5000 litres – not enough to service the population in the catchment – and we cannot turn anyone away, knowing the vital lifesaving need of water for our people.

“We appeal for an additional tank with a similar capacity due to the high population. We also face problems with the valves that fail due to the extensive use. Sometimes, when we need to replace a valve, it can take an entire day just to find one and complete the replacement,” Teykanto stressed.

The water committee is a vital community-led management solution critical to solving maintenance and usage issues, making water access more reliable and equitable.