Part of FOVC's ministry is to help widows in the village. In America when a women loses her husband it is difficult but many qualify for social security benefits and there is often life insurance. In Ethiopia the story is much worse. Often widows are young, have multiple children and usually their parents or in-laws live with them. They are caring and providing for many people. Some are forced to give their children away. The average life expectancy in Ethiopia is 55.2 years versus 78.4 years in the United States.
Team Tasfa hired FOVC's widows to cook for us. We paid for the food and their labor. After I realized how precious water is, I felt bad seeing them use it to wash our dishes. There are 8,000 people in Shanto and 2 wells. They are turned on for a short time everyday and each household gets one jug of water. It is the yellow jug you see. I would estimate 4-5 gallons. The water is not filtered. Since there are no lakes or rivers in this area they don't have enough water to take a bath or wash clothes regularly. My guess is during the rainy season they are able to wash themselves and wash clothes but that is only a couple months out of the year. In the larger cities of Ethiopia water is more available but millions of people live in rural areas.
Upon returning home one of my team members, Rick, hit the ground running! He immediately started working with an organization that has been involved in digging wells in Africa. God moved through that situation and the process to dig more wells has begun. Money is currently being raised for the project. If you are interested in donating check out the FOVC website or contact Lory at thehowletts4@msn.com.
A well on the road to Shanto.
A common sight, donkeys carrying water jugs.
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