Bringing Wells and Wellness to Residents of Rural Ethiopia

Azanaw Musaw Tegegne, an eighth grader, says that before JDC installed the fresh water tap in his village in Gondar, Ethiopia, most people drank water from a nearby stream. Like hundreds of villages around rural Ethiopia, Gondar’s Gabriel kebele (area similar to a neighborhood) had no access to potable water for drinking, bathing, or cooking during the region’s extended dry seasons and draughts.

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. In rural parts of country, only 11 percent of the population has access to clean water while just 7 percent has access to adequate sanitation facilities. During the rainy season, the population’s water supply is procured from nearby springs, streams, and shallow wells. When the dry season comes, these water sources dry up, forcing villagers to collect water from sub-standard, often polluted, wells and streams.

The health hazards are enormous: 90 percent of all preventable diseases such as malaria, cholera, yellow fever, hepatitis, typhoid and diarrhea can be attributed to underdeveloped and ill-protected water supplies. Waterborne diseases claim the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians each year.

Limited access to safe drinking water not only results in poor health, but also causes serious developmental problems. Collecting water is back-breaking work that drains precious energy and restricts involvement in productive activities and community affairs for many women and children in every village. On average, rural villagers spend four to six hours per day collecting water from sources that can be as far as 10 kilometers from their homes.

Over the last 25 years, JDC has built dozens of potable water wells throughout Gondar and the surrounding countryside with guidance from the Ethiopian Water Works Construction Authority and the local government in Gondar. Funding for this effort has come from international NGOs, as well as private donors and foundations. The Ground Water Development program has produced hand dug wells, protected springs, taps, micro-dams, and latrines.

JDC originally built wells in areas that served large numbers of Jews (the Felas Mura population awaiting immigration to Israel) but also supplied water to the non-Jewish villagers. By 2008, as JDC constructed a dozen wells across Gondar through its International Development Program (JDC-IDP), new water projects served 100 percent non-Jewish populations.

As JDC-IDP’s larger goal is to provide assistance that will leave communities stronger and self-sustaining in the long run, each project engages and is facilitated by local village water committees, who solicit local manpower for some labor and materials used in the construction process. JDC-IDP also provides the villagers with training on the importance of drinking the clean water and encourages behavioral change to improve overall health. Whenever possible, in addition to building the wells, JDC-IDP constructs communal latrines to facilitate a safe, sanitary human waste disposal system (as open air toilets are widely known to contaminate the town’s clean drinking water). Community education and involvement contributes tremendously to the success and long-term sustainability of these projects.

With safe, fresh, local water sources for drinking, cooking and sanitation available in his village for the first time, Azanaw Musaw Tegegne no longer needs to travel great distances to collect water. Freed of this chore, he will now be able to finish eighth grade at the newly built JDC-IDP school in his hometown of Gabriel, Gondar—one of 10 schools JDC-IDP has built in the region in the past 18 months.

That last fact is important, as Ethiopia has an adult literacy rate of barely 36 percent. Azanaw will be one of the just 23 percent of teenage boys and 13 percent of teenage girls enrolled in secondary schools. (Only 55 percent of all boys and 47 percent of all girls are enrolled in primary schools; 38 percent will not reach the fifth grade.)

Committed to making a difference in the development of Ethiopia’s educational system and securing a future for some of the most vulnerable people on the globe, JDC-IDP has been repairing and building schools for some of the poorest Ethiopian children across the Northern Gondar region since 2000.

At a celebration in appreciation for JDC-IDP’s donation of a hand water pump to one local village, the Chairman of the Gondar City Council, Asmamaw Yosuf, said, “Really, you have reached at the [root] of the problem. The people have no words to appreciate your donation. [We have] seen the enthusiastic dances praising to your organization.”

St. Louis woman, 24, uses art to help orphans in Rwanda

From the St. Louis Dispatch

University City artist Tanya Fredman packs her bags for her upcoming trip to Rwanda where she will spend the next eight months working with orphans of genocide, sharing her art in a Kigali high school. (Robert Cohen/P-D)

St. Louis woman, 24, uses art to help orphans in Rwanda

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
By Margaret Gillerman

About a month ago, Tanya Fredman was sipping coffee at a Clayton coffeehouse, animatedly discussing art, not far from the home of her parents and younger brothers in University City.

Now she is more than 8,000 miles away on a jungle hilltop in the African country of Rwanda, helping Tutsi and Hutu orphans at Agahozo Shalom Youth Village.

Fredman, 24, arrived in Rwanda on Dec. 9. Muraho! she wrote — a reassuring Rwandan language hello for her parents, Dr. Carey and Susie Fredman.

Tanya Fredman will spend eight months there, about an hour outside of Kigali, Rwanda's capital — a city depicted in "Hotel Rwanda," a movie about that country's genocide.

Almost 1 million people were murdered in Rwanda during the genocide, in which Hutu militias sought to wipe out the Tutsis and moderate Hutus. About 1.2 million orphans now live in Rwanda, the result of the genocide and AIDS.

Fredman's visit is part of a yearlong mission that she calls "Painting Hope." After graduating last spring with an art degree from Brandeis University, she signed up for a year as a volunteer with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. She's dividing her time teaching art at two world trouble spots, the Middle East and Rwanda. At both places, she is working with young refugees and orphans.

Fredman believes she can use art to help heal the hearts of the troubled youths who experienced severe traumas, such as war and genocide.

"Art can be a powerful way of looking at what they've been through and give them new perceptions," she said. "For me, art is a lot more than just colors and shapes. It's about the way people relate to the world and to other people around them. It's something deeper within."

Fredman got her taste for combining volunteering with world travel in 2006 when she spent seven weeks in Ghana with the American Jewish World Service helping build a community center. African chiefs welcomed her with blessings and she was moved by the exuberant dancing of a group of young children. She jumped in and joined them.

"We were all smiling, laughing, holding hands, I felt like I found a connection with the people there."

Fredman already feels welcome in Rwanda. The Rwandan chefs are careful to help her observe her traditions as a modern Orthodox Jew. She will live on freshly cooked meals of cassava, rice, beans and vegetables.

"They have made is quite easy for me to feel very comfortable here and are interested in learning more about why I practice religion the way I do, as many of them are very religious themselves," Fredman says.

Fredman has heard personal accounts of the genocide from counselors and house mothers.

"Most notable and difficult to understand is the desire to forgive," she said. She is optimistic about the new government in Rwanda.

"Right now there is peace," she said. "There's a new official policy to not distinguish between Hutus and Tutsis but to live together only as Rwandans. But the issues of the past are still very painful."

'GATHER US TOGETHER'

In the Yemin Orde village near Haifa, Israel, this fall, Fredman worked with children from 20 countries, including Ethiopia, Sudan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and China. Some were refugees from Darfur. At Yemin Orde, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, she and the children created a mosaic and then a colorful mural. The mosaic's theme was: "Gather Us Together from the Four Corners of the World."

One of her most inspiring experiences at Yemin Orde was a visit from Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, a child survivor of the Nazi genocide of Jews. Yemin Orde was founded in 1953 for orphans of the Holocaust.

Men and women from Rwanda — survivors of the 1994 genocide there — visited the Israeli village that weekend. One Rwandan who addressed the children said: "Together we are going to change the world."

The Rwandan teachers led the children in clapping, singing, stamping and twirling. They explained a dance that a man does before giving the woman he loves a cow.

As the only American in Yemin Orde, Fredman was responsible for translating English rap songs and MTV news. "I did not forget to mention that being a St. Louisan I grew up near Nelly," she said.

Fredman attended grade school at Epstein Hebrew Academy in Olivette and then went to all-girls Block Yeshiva High School, graduating in 2003. After a year in Israel, she went on to Brandeis, spending a summer in Ghana and a semester in Rome.

Fredman says she's motivated by tikkun olam, a Hebrew expression meaning "to mend the world."

Through her art, she adds: "I hope I'm making it more colorful along the way."

To watch and read about Tanya Fredman's journey, see her website at http://www.tanyafredman.com/.

Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV)
A Special project of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee

The Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) aims to create a safe and structured residential community for orphaned children in Rwanda.  The village will be a place of hope where traumatized youth can "dry their tears" (Agahozo) and "live in peace" (Shalom).

Within this caring environment, the rhythm of life will be restored, so that youth who have been through great trauma will find a home and a community, as well as a place to learn and become leaders for tomorrow.  The youth who come to live and learn in the ASYV will grow into healthy adults who are not only able to care for themselves and their families, but who are also committed to making their community, their country and indeed the world a better place. 

A unique and ambitious project, the ASYV will serve as a model for caring for the disrupted lives of youth across Rwanda, Africa and beyond, to wherever there are traumatized youth who need a place to call home.

For more information about ASYV, please visit the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village website.  

JDC Responds to the Earthquake in Pakistan

NEW YORK, NY, October 30, 2008—The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), an overseas humanitarian aid organization working in over 70 countries, today announced that it is collecting funds on a non-sectarian basis for relief efforts following the 6.5-magnitude earthquake which struck southwest Pakistan yesterday morning. The earthquake has left hundreds dead and thousands homeless and JDC will be working with the International Blue Crescent—a partner in JDC’s efforts following the 2005 Pakistani earthquake—to deliver immediate relief supplies to the hardest-hit areas. The efforts are part of JDC’s International Development Program (IDP), which provides immediate relief and long-term assistance for natural and manmade disasters.

"Thanks to our strong partnerships in the region and around the world, JDC is well-positioned to respond quickly to the needs of the victims of this disaster. It is our long-standing mission to provide as much help as possible for people whose lives have been suddenly devastated, be it by supplying food, medicines, and blankets or rebuilding schools and homes," said Steve Schwager, Chief Executive Officer, JDC.

JDC and its partners worldwide have implemented similar relief efforts and continue to operate programs designed to rebuild infrastructure and community life in regions that have experienced natural and manmade disasters. Recently mobilizing to aid victims of the conflict in Georgia, JDC was among the first humanitarian aid organizations on the ground providing basic necessities and helping evacuate Jews from the war zone. In May of this year, JDC entered Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta to immediately provide water, food, and medical supplies to victims of Cyclone Nargis. JDC has since partnered with local NGOs to rebuild the affected region’s schools and homes.

To Make a Contribution to Assist Pakistan Earthquake Victims:
Online: http://www.jdc.org/
By Phone: 212-687-6200
By Mail: check payable to
JDC-Pakistan Earthquake Relief
P O Box 4124
New York, NY 10163

JDC's non-sectarian programs are funded by the generous donations of individuals and foundations; UJC/Federation annual campaigns are not used for JDC non-sectarian activities.

Situation Update: Myanmar

It has been three months since Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar on May 2 and 3, 2008. Almost immediately, JDC began collecting funds to assist victims on a non-sectarian basis and JDC personnel were granted entry visas to carry out humanitarian aid efforts. This report is from Amos Avgar, JDC’s Executive Director of the International Development Program, JDC’s department for non-sectarian humanitarian aid, following his most recent trip to the area.

I just returned to Yangon from a three-day field trip to Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta. I traveled with our local YMCA partner to review our current programs and to plan our next intervention. Joining us was a medical doctor who had been involved in the relief efforts and who was hired as a JDC staff member to represent us locally after the Cyclone.

According to UNICEF, approximately 2.5 million people were affected by the May storm, 140,000 are dead, and 700,000 children still need long-term assistance. Hundreds of thousands of people still require housing assistance. But according to the United Nations, housing assistance continues to be a serious challenge since it is difficult to track people throughout the vast area of the Delta.

Devastation is everywhere. The population is extremely dispersed along the riverways, along the dilapidated roads, and in the middle of vast rice fields. Accessibility is only possible for many people via small boats. But rehabilitation is slow: the government is slow to respond and has concentrated its efforts only where its repairs are visible. The majority, therefore, are still neglected and left to the good will and the perseverance of NGOs.

After traveling ten hours by car and six hours by boat, we reached a village whose name means "the fruit at the top of the stream." Totally isolated between small streams and creeks, the village cannot be reached by car. Seventy-six families, or about 300 people, live in the village, which was swept away and destroyed by the Cyclone and the rising waters that followed. The water wave was over 18 feet high, killing 32 adults and 43 children and damaging or destroying virtually all wooden-bamboo homes. The orphans remained in the village with relatives. The residents buried their dead and attended to the wounded as best they could, but the death toll rose higher. The families in this village had virtually nothing before the disaster struck and they have even less now.

In May 2008, JDC sent humanitarian assistance to the village. Now, almost three months after the Cyclone, 41 families are still homeless and the school is totally damaged. We spoke to the village committee and agreed to the following: (1) JDC will continue to provide humanitarian assistance and will provide the materials needed to build the school; (2) the villagers will construct the school themselves; (3) JDC will provide the materials for 41 houses ($120 each) and the villagers will build the homes themselves. They will create a village revolving loan fund, each family giving 5 percent of the donation from JDC each year. And our YMCA partners will be responsible for building a new clinic in the village and providing the equipment needed to operate it.

While we were there, a monk was leading a memorial service for the dead in a small hut that was crowded with over 30 women. On the side stood a little jar where money was collected for the widows. It was very moving to see the villagers themselves be part of the healing process. They were contributing in their own way while JDC, in its traditional role, was there to support them in saving lives and helping transform the village.

We then traveled by boat to another village bordering the sea. Here the people are farmers and fishermen, and their means of making a livelihood were totally destroyed. The farmers lost their crops and could not replant because all embankments were totally destroyed and the fields covered with salt water. The fisherman lost their boats and their nets. JDC is working with a local NGO to help reconstruct the embankments. We are also implementing a micro-financing program, which will allow the fishermen to buy equipment to repair their damaged boats, purchase new ones, and buy fishing nets.

As a brief overview of the trip, I share with you the following:

When I first arrived in Yangon, I met with General Ming, the Deputy Minister for Social Affairs. I reported to him about our work and future plans. This was my second visit with him, my first taking place only a few days after the Cyclone struck. The Minister was very cordial and he commented that, unlike other NGOs, he is happy to see that JDC is still working in the area.

I met with Pact, which was founded in 1971 as a membership organization of US private and voluntary organizations (PVOs) to facilitate distributing small USAID grants to PVOs working in relief and development assistance. We are partnering with them to implement preventive health and livelihood programs. The program coordinator told me that JDC funding enabled them to assist 32,000 people. It has proven to be a very productive partnership.

I also met with International Red Cross (IRC) staff. They are new on the scene, arriving after the Cyclone. I asked their new country representative to send us a proposal in the area of livelihood, and that we will be glad to cooperate.

I had long discussions with the President and Executive Director of the Myanmar Red Cross as well as the country representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. We are planning a joint program with Magen David Adom—the first-ever operations in Myanmar.

We have begun a joint livelihood program with the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute (AIDMI), with whom we partnered following the South Asian Tsunami. The representative of AIDMI and I met in Yangon and together with JDC's local representative here, we planned the program and the method of monitoring.

Similarly, with Sarvodaya—our partner in Sri Lanka since the Tsunami—JDC is implementing a feeding program through a local monastery. While I was here, we distributed tons of rice that were given to the victims of the Cyclone. We are using our intervention in Myanmar to both strengthen existing partnerships and increase the capacity of disaster programs of our existing Asian partners.

I had a long discussion with Moses, the head of the Jewish community in Myanmar. With the JDC funds, they finished repairing the damages to the synagogue. The situation of five families, he told me, remains difficult and the cemetery needs additional repair. I left him money for these two purposes.