On Thursday we visited Gunda village and the local primary school to learn about the community water supply.
The children had a surprise for us. When we arrived they were waiting for us in front of the school in a big group with a wonderful bouquet and sang a greeting song for us. It was a very touching moment. Then they presented us with the well (and its operation) which is in a closed place and they are guarding it.
© Judit Kocsis
© Judit Kocsis
This well is very useful, because it makes their lives so much easier. Before they had it, the women and girls used to have to walk many kilometers to find fresh water, and they had to walk barefoot in a stream, so they often cut their feet on the rocks. Now the well is close to their homes.
© Judit Kocsis
Each family donates 1 birr ( =13 HUF, = 0,04 EUR) a month and it’s put into a bank account, which they manage, in case of problems. The well is 13 m deep and gives fresh and clean water to 40 families (on average there are seven members in a family) so it serves 280 people.
After that we visited a traditional house and household. This was very pretty. It has a living- and bedroom together. Children sleep in the living room, parents sleep on the loft and in the house is a separate room for sheep. The kitchen is in a separate building. In the kitchen a woman brought out some cotton which is used for making clothes and bags. Anita and Sara tried to spin it. It was very funny, because only Sara could do it the right way. The toilet is separate too, and they can wash their hands there. This is a very big thing, because they couldn’t do it before.
© Judit Kocsis
© Judit Kocsis
© Judit Kocsis
At the end of the visit the local people entertained us for a picnic and we had an opportunity to taste some kind of beans and seeds. They made us a traditional local food (named fir-fir) which is Katrina’s favorite Ethiopian food: bread (which is rather like a pancake, but the batter is lighter) with a vegetable puree. This has an interesting taste. The bread is a little sour and the puree is very hot. I didn’t like it very much because I don’t like spicy foods. And they made for us a very tasty coffee.
© Judit Kocsis
© Judit Kocsis
© Judit Kocsis
© Judit Kocsis
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