Konso Woreda, Ethiopia

April 2009

In a land where water is scarce, communities will come together to do whatever is necessary to find much-needed water. In the Konso Woreda of Southern Ethiopia, this community initiative was taken to a whole new level when a village built and maintained a mile of road, just to allow a drill rig access to their community. Due to the hydrology of the region, drilling a well where the road originally ended was not possible, but there was hope that drilling a mile further down the hillside would work. The community came together and, using only farm tools, cut a dirt road into the hillside, allowing access for the large drill rig. When Blood:Water Mission visited the newly-drilled well, the community was out fixing a section of the road washed out by a massive rain storm the day before. While the labor to maintain the road was hard, the people were laughing and talking as they worked. When asked why they were so happy, the instant response was, "because at the end of this road, there is water."