Both refugees and locals benefit from clean water in Itang
Itang, Gambella region
Since 2013, more than 2.3 million South Sudanese were forced to flee their home due to a violent conflict and political unrest. Gambella, a region in western Ethiopia bordering South Sudan hosts more than 400,000 refugees. Most of them currently live in semi-permanent housing structures and 88 per cent of them are women and children.
Pumps and pipes doing all the work
Robecha Nyachoap Gal (42), lives in Itang Gambella. She understands the water supplies got better thanks to the presence of refugees in the area. “I used to suffer with kidney infections very often because of high salinity of the water we were using”, she says.
“Now, the water we get is clean, treated by chlorine. I am healthier and save a lot of energy thanks to the pipeline system with powered pumps.” she adds.
There has been a new addition to the family recently, Robecha became a grandmother of little Sunday. “My children used to be sick with diarrhea and other water-borne diseases often, I hope for a better life for my granddaughter.”
A new approach
In Itang woreda (district), UNICEF with partners like Oxfam, UNHCR and local governmental bodies, with the financial support from KfW supported the development of a very special water scheme, where both the local and the refugee community benefit from safe and reliable water supply.
The scheme reaches approximately 200,000 refugees and around 30,000 host community members.
The Itang water scheme is managed and operated by the utility on a self-sustaining business model while being supported by Itang technical working group, chaired by the Gambella Regional Water Bureau.
The main focus is now capacity building of the utility members and upgrading the system to meet the increasing water demands. Alternative power sources are being investigated in order to reduce operation costs.
This utility model running a project that serves both refugees and the host community is the first of its kind in the world and this innovative approach will be applied in more projects soon.
Everybody is included
Nyalear Khat Chol, a mother of 7 children shares her view from the refugee perspective. She arrived in Itang in 2013 after a journey full of hardship.
“When I came, water scarcity was a big problem here, making our lives very hard. I have seen a great improvement since then, the piped water system saves my time and energy.”
She understands the importance of reliable water supply for both host and refugee communities as prevention of conflicts.
“It wouldn’t be fair if only the refugees got drinking water, I appreciate that the local people who own this land are included in the water scheme, this way we can coexist in peace.”
Being a good example
The Itang water scheme is a unique project and gives a good example that hosting refugees can impact the host community in a positive way as they can both benefit the attention and improvement of water supply.
