Clean Water Ethiopia Project #21028

Give Clean Water to Kids in Africa

by Splash

Project Report | Oct 6, 2023
Guarding the Future: Bedellu's Role in Nurturing Student Success

By Eliza C. | Donor Relations Manager

Meet Bedellu, a janitor and guard at Felege Birhan School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the past eight years. This school stands out, with teachers dedicated not only to academics but also to building strong character in their students. Bedellu is an essential part of this mission, ensuring a safe and clean environment for over 700 students, allowing them to focus on their studies and personal growth.

Bedellu shares, "when I see the students enjoying their day and going home, I feel a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. I know that I have done my best to provide them with a safe environment. I also feel hopeful for their future, knowing that they have learned valuable skills and knowledge that will help them achieve their goals."

In 2022, Splash joined Felege Birhan School, making water use efficient and teaching students and staff to value their equipment. Bedellu became an integral part of this transformation, receiving training to maintain the water infrastructure. Today, he’s not just a janitor, he’s a guardian of the future.

Bedellu's role is a key part of Splash's overall model: janitors are integral to students' health and hygiene. The knowledge Bedellu has about how to fix and maintain infrastructure ensures the systems we install are sustainable so kids can access safe water for years to come.

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Jun 9, 2023
Addis Ababa's Own Hygiene Hero

By Eliza C. | Donor Relations Manager

Abraham, a determined 19-year-old student from Addis Ababa, has been on a transformative journey since joining Millennium Secondary School. Drawn to the school's vibrant and clean environment, he was keen to promote cleanliness and hygiene within his community. Abraham exclaimed, "The school was so attractive and clean! I noticed there are colorful stations for drinking and handwashing. I was fascinated and eager to know more about these water facilities, so I joined the student hygiene club."

As an active member of the hygiene club, Abraham passionately shares his knowledge with fellow students during break times, emphasizing the importance of knowing which stations are for drinking, and which are for handwashing. Reflecting on his role, he proudly states, "We share our knowledge with other students, talking to them about the importance of clean hands and maintaining personal and environmental hygiene."

Abraham's dedication and leadership skills have propelled him to the position of Hygiene Club leader, which he embraces with pride. Looking towards the future, he shares his aspirations, saying, "When I grow up, I want to be a prime minister and make my country rich!"Abraham's dreams of a brighter future extend beyond his personal ambitions. His journey exemplifies the broader impact of Project WISE (Hyperlink webpage). By nurturing a new generation of leaders who understand the critical connection between hygiene and a sustainable future, we are sowing the seeds of change that will reverberate far beyond the confines of a classroom.

To date, Splash has:

Provided over one million kids with access to water, sanitary toilets, and hygiene programs across Ethiopia
Reached over 94% of public schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – the largest city in the country.

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Feb 14, 2023
Meet Tadesse

By Local Staff | Splash Ethiopia

Tadesse

Located in a dense neighborhood in the northern area of Addis Ababa, Millennium Secondary and Preparatory School’s open spaces and groves of mature trees give the campus a sense of sanctuary from the busy marketplaces surrounding the school. To help keep kids healthy, the school partnered with Splash to implement an array of upgrades to the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) environment on campus.

Installing and maintaining WASH infrastructure requires a keen team of contractors, school administrators, designers, and maintenance staff working together to create a responsive system that continuously ensures the school community is getting the best service it can. Tadesse Kayasse works for the school’s maintenance team.

Tadesse helps maintain the WASH systems at Millennium Secondary and Preparatory School. Tadesse’s path to maintenance took many roads: “Before joining this school, I served in the military. Now, I have worked at this school for seven years. First, I was hired as a guard. During that period, I was able to learn electric maintenance in a vocational school. For the past three years, I have been working at the school as a maintenance personnel.” When asked about the favorite part of his job, Tadesse replies, “As a doctor is satisfied when curing a patient, I get satisfaction when I repair any damaged facility in the school compound.”

The transformation at the school has been inspiring for staff, students, and teachers. “Prior to Splash working in this school, there was a situation where there was no water for more than fifteen days. Not only the students, but also the staff struggled to find clean water,” Tadesse explained. “During students’ break time, they tried to go out of the compound in order to find drinking water from the neighborhood. I used to bring three liters of water from my home for students’ consumption.”

To ensure sustainability and long-term operations, training is a core component of Splash’s program. Tadesse shares, “My first experience with Splash was maintenance training. The training was an introduction to the stations and water facilities newly built in the school. In addition, the training consisted of how to keep areas safe and clean and how to sustain the facilities after Splash completes their work at our school. We also got hands-on training that helped us learn about major maintenance applications.”

Tadesse reflects on the transformation he’s seen within the school and amongst students since Splash’s WASH infrastructure has been installed: “We can get clean water from the water filter, the handwashing stations help us keep our hands clean, and the water storage tanks are the keystone. I am excited about all the facilities, and I would like to thank Splash for their work.”

Whether it be teachers, parents, maintenance staff, school leadership, government, or any of the numerous parties required to install and sustain WASH infrastructure, everyone hopes for the same outcome: healthy kids. Thanks to supporters like you and individuals like Tadesse, a safer, healthier environment is now the case for the students at Millennium Secondary and Preparatory School and hundreds of other schools across Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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