Letters from Africa: Context
The work that I came to see is in southwest Ethiopia is in a hard but beautiful land. Our partner organization, WaterAid, was warned that the Konso Woreda was not an easy place to work and that many had failed before them, but they decided to try. (story continued)
All of the mountainsides are terraced with layers supported by rocks. Household compounds are surrounded by wood fences and include a round home or two with thatched roofs, a cooking area, and a small chicken coop or two. These compounds are often grouped in villages, though some are found as solitary fortresses dropped in the middle of terraced fields. Most of the men are gone from the villages as they tend to their main farms for days, or possibly weeks, at a time in the rift valley, a five plus hour walk from their homes. I am here during the middle of the big rainy season, and so I am surrounded by green and the weather is idilic - warm but not hot, some rain, and cool nights. But during the dry seasons, it is not hard to imagine how the heat will return, the land dry up, the vegetation disappear, and the colors be reduced to shades of brown. It is in this land of contrasts between the dry and rainy season that people here carve out a living and a home. And, in the midst of it all, they smile and they laugh.
Each region of each country in Africa has its own unique culture to be discovered and learned. One of the ways that these differences play themselves out here at Blood:Water Mission is that all of our partners in Africa work in the way that is most suited for the specific location. While this makes the programs themselves complex in their diversity, it means that each has the greatest possibility for making a lasting difference. A critical part of this is contextualizing materials that are used in teaching water, hygiene and sanitation. 
Contextualizing training materials means that examples and drawings are culturally appropriate. Here in Ethiopia, our partner has a wonderful example of this in their training materials. Take this picture of a latrine - it is perfect for where they work as homes are round and roofs are made of thatched straw. And yet, the same image would be confusing in northern Kenya where homes are moved on a camel's back and straw for thatching is not available. This beautiful example of contextualizing, provided by WaterAid Ethiopia, is an integral piece of their successful work.
- Dr. Pamela Crane
Pamela serves as Blood:Water's Water Projects Manager and is currently visiting our partners and communities in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Rwanda, & Kenya.
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