Ethiopia:   An emerging economy  October, 2013

Bajaj's are replacing horse-drawn taxis

   I was delighted to return to Ethiopia to teach sanitation promotion and construction.   This time we were teaching in Hawassa, in the Great Rift Valley about 270 km south of the capital city of Addis Ababa.   It was so good to see large buildings under construction, active commerce and concrete roads.  In the evenings, we visited some new resorts along the shore of Lake Awasa and had some great meals.

Many of our students were from the Oromia region that may very well be the most primitive part of the country.   All were well educated and were either government  employees, teachers, school masters, or Mekane Yesus (Place of Jesus) church employees. About five were Muslim and the rest Christian.  Another team was teaching  a different Lifewater curriculum to a group of students about as large as ours. 

San-Plats are placed over larger slabs of available material

We elected to teach  "San-Plats" (sanitary platforms) rather than full slabs, because we were getting feedback that the Oromia region is too poor for families to afford to build a full slab.      Most published material for San-Plats indicates that rebar is not needed. My experience is that it is not true, so I advocate use of a small piece of rebar to avoid breakage.   Also, use of banana leaves rather than oiling the sides of the forms reduces cost.    We calculated that we built them for about $8 each.

Notice the prominent mound 

For our teachback, we went to a location in the mountains south of the city.   Our students constructed a complete latrine while we watched.  They placed the San-Plat on a larger slab of wood that the locals were certain would not be attacked by termites. One of the most common mistakes in constructing a latrine is to omit the mound.    By elevating the latrine above ground level, you reduce the chances of flood water from filling the latrine which allows the contents to overflow onto the surrounding area and spread disease. By keeping the ground near the slab dry, the mound also helps to the pit lining's role of preventing the pit from collapsing. 

I think another "God thing" happened on this trip, but all of us will have to wait for the next trip or two to see if it was.  

School Latrines & difficult issues in Tanzania May, 2013

   Isaiah 6:8 says:  Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"  And I said, "Here am I.  Send me. "   I continue to ask God to use me in ways that I did not expect.  He must like that prayer because He continues to answer it as He did with this trip.   It started in an unusual manner.   Someone obtained my contact information through the retired director of Lifewater International.    The goal was to teach sanitation to a secular, for-profit NGO based in Mwasa. That NGO would then construct school latrines with money from Europe.    Although uncomfortable with a number of issues, I agreed to go in view of potential impact.

Then it got even more uncomfortable.   The person who arranged the trip called me to say that his wife had just been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, so he could no longer go.   After a lot of thought and prayer, I decided to continue with the project.    Another person with no prior WASH training had already agreed to go and had been fund raising.   I contacted a secular organization called IHSAN (see the link -- they are reinventing themselves to be known as "Sanitation for All") to see if they would be willing to sponsor the trip.  They not only  agreed but also asked if they could have someone from their organization participate in the trip.  What an amazing addition he was! He had an engineering degree from one of the top schools in India and a masters degree from a school in the USA.   Further,  he had personal experience with a poor WASH environment and a great heart for helping the poor while on vacation from his paying job.

Teaching "disease paths" module with "participatory training"