There are times when the challenges of the world can weigh heavily, and hope seems hard to find. We hope you’ll be uplifted by these three good news stories: stories of how our partners are working to build a more just and compassionate world in which all have the opportunity to flourish.
Buze Eyamo and Arfase Erasho, farmers and neighbours in southern Ethiopia, know what a lack of access to water is like – and what its consequences can be. Until recently, their drinking water came from a pond that was close to home, but polluted. They boiled and filtered the water, but the methods they used weren’t always sufficient to make the water safe for consumption.
In the dry season, when the local pond dried out, they had to travel for more than an hour to fetch water. Like the local source, this one was contaminated. Not only could they not obtain enough water for their drinking, cooking and washing needs, but they – and their families – were frequently ill with waterborne diseases like diarrhoea.
Last year, Tearfund’s local Christian partner Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Development Commission (EKHCDC) supported their community to construct a communal water point at a central location in the village, connecting it to an existing water scheme via 1.2km of plastic piping. Community members worked together to dig trenches for the laying of pipes, provided sand and stones to make a concrete tap stand, fenced the water point, and now manage the water source.
EKHCDC works in numerous communities like Buze and Arfase’s in the Sidama region of Ethiopia to establish water supply infrastructure: drilling and repairing water wells, constructing new water points, developing surface water, and installing rainwater harvesting systems. Its teams also work with local people to promote simple measures that improve hygiene and sanitation, like handwashing.
For Buze and Arfase, life looks very different nowadays. They have access to potable water close to home for drinking, cooking and washing dishes, and don’t face a long and arduous journey for water during the dry season. And their families are enjoying better health and relief from waterborne diseases.
Uganda has been hit hard by the global hunger crisis of the past few years. High dependence on agriculture – three quarters of Ugandans live in rural areas – means that climate shocks have a serious impact on livelihoods. Drought, flooding and heat waves have contributed to crop failure, land degradation and livestock loss. In the Karamoja region, in the country’s north east, the past few years have also seen a resurgence of tribal conflict.
Against these odds, hope is bubbling up in this hard place. Chegem Helen is a symbol of that hope. Tearfund’s Christian partner Vision TERUDO is working with communities like hers in Karamoja, supporting them to build their resilience in the face of climate change.
Chegem is a chair of the savings group in her village. Before joining the group, which is facilitated by Vision TERUDO, Chegem farmed just one acre of land each season, and the food she grew was barely enough for her and her children, who became malnourished.
Vision TERUDO helped her children with supplementary feeding during that time of extreme food shortages, and now they’re healthy. Chegem also received skills training and information about preparing nutritious food for her children. Last year, she took a small loan from the savings group and hired more land to farm on. With her four acres she is growing healthy crops of sorghum and green gram. She was also able to farm with members from her group, and together they had a successful harvest. Being part of the group means Chegem has access to better and more varied seeds, along with training on preparing the ground, planting in rows and post-harvest handling, all of which have contributed to the healthy yields she’s enjoyed.
“My visual impairment has not stopped me,” says Victor Kapsal, who is part of farmers’ and savings groups in his village in South Sudan. This father of nine lost his sight 10 years ago due to illness.
Soon after, he connected with Tearfund’s partner Sudan Evangelical Mission, which was active in his village. Its staff helped him to believe that “disability is not inability”, and supported him in learning to use a cane and manage the tasks of daily living.
Today, Victor is still an active farmer, participating in all of the activities of his farmers’ group, and in the life of his community.
“I may not have vision, but I have my mind,” says Victor. He and his wife have used money from the savings group to help meet their children’s school costs and to start a poultry-raising business, which has continued to grow. His wife is running her own small shop selling cooking oil, onions and small household items.
Related projects have received support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
