Lia Thiesmann's Visit to Ethiopia; Saturday, February 26, 2011; by John Baigent, Partners In The Horn of Africa

All travel away from the few main roads is problematic in Ethiopia. There are deep gorges in the highlands areas that are impassible due to high flows during the rainy season from July to September. Unless there are reliable crossings, families cannot travel between communities to go to markets, schools or obtain health care.

The Village of Kasso Manso lies in the Bale Mountains south of Addis Ababa (in the opposite direction from our recent spring project sites in Wollo). The Kasso Manso school has no floors, doors, windows, desks, a library or latrines.The 1,065 students who attend the school are split between a morning and afternoon shift and taught by 21 teachers.

This program will be a continuation of the Spring Protection work that EBA & Partners did in the Woredo (province) of North Wollo in 2006 except this time it will be in the south-central part of the country near Kasso Manso. Young women often carry 20 kg water jugs on their backs 5 to 10 km several times a day to obtain water of marginal quality from natural seeps and puddles that are shared with domestic cattle and wild animals.