From the muddy, remote areas of Bensa and the rocky and bumpy roads of Dodola, Ethiopia, to the humid, red-dirt outskirts of Mayuge, Uganda – I had an amazing visit meeting our staff and beneficiaries, seeing our work in action, and capturing every memorable moment and interview along the way.
I recently returned from traveling to Ethiopia and Uganda with a video and photo team to capture new stories and content to share with donors for Water for Good marketing efforts. We spent 14 days traveling to remote areas, seeing every aspect of the work our Water for Good teams do everyday and meeting inspiring beneficiaries along the way.
One of my favorite parts of this trip was meeting our field staff in person. In Hawassa, we met the office team and shared devotions together. In Bensa, we charged our devices on the generator and had breakfast with the team every morning. In Kokosa, we met the drilling team who had been working for 5 months in advance to strike water for the first time, and in Dodola, staff greeted me with a big, smiling “I know you!” after a long 3-hour drive to seemingly nowhere. In Kampala, the local team had fresh chapati, samosas, and tea to greet us at the office, and in Mayuge, the team made us fried chicken lunches to keep our energy up and going for the long days.
Meeting our team in person was a delight and it felt like hanging out with long-lost friends. I appreciate the welcome and care they gave us along the way. When people ask me what I enjoy about Water for Good, I always mention the closeness we have to our field staff. This is a rare thing, and one of the big values of working for a smaller NGO – to really get to know the people around the world who are working alongside you each day.
It was a long, rich trip with many things to share, but I’ll give a short recap of each area we visited and some of the highlights.
Bensa, Ethiopia:
In Bensa, we visited a healthy church and did our first interviews of the trip. We parked alongside a muddy footpath and had to walk uphill on the slick ground for about 20 minutes to reach the church. We visited a healthy home and met a mom who suffered for many years with acute typhoid fever due to dirty water. She now has a new lease on life thanks to a water point in her own compound. We visited my favorite school of the trip in Bensa, viewing the new latrines and handwashing stations Water for Good had installed. We loved making the kids giggle by yelling “Kolfi” at them (which means smile), so they would giggle for the cameras. The landscape in this place was simply stunning, surrounded by mountains and forest in every direction.
Kokosa, Ethiopia:
In Kokosa, we saw water coming up from a well for the first time! The drilling team waited for us to join the big moment, and the community gathered for a huge cultural celebration that included dancing, singing, horses, a coffee ceremony, local foods, and more. We visited a healthy home where the mom expressed so much emotion in her interview. When we asked her how she felt about the new safe, clean water point close to her home, she exclaimed she was “So excited!” We saw their expanding farmland and the place they used to walk to for a long while to collect dirty water.
Dodola, Ethiopia:
In Dodola, we saw sustainability in action, filming a maintenance team working on a water point as local women and children filled their jerrycans. We met a woman who has improved her false banana plant business through the time she has available now, thanks to easy access to safe water and a healthy school and WASH club. We also visited an unserved area where we hope to work in the future. We hiked about a mile of farmland to the unsafe water source, a river filled with women, kids, animals, and more, washing clothes and gathering water for cooking and drinking. We also saw an unhealthy home, needing an improved latrine, bathing shelter, clean compound, and drying rack. We pray we can serve this area in the future!
Mayuge, Uganda:
We spent several days filming in Mayuge to see all aspects of our work in this area. We visited a healthy home, healthy church, healthy health center, and healthy school. We had our favorite interview of the week at this school, with an adorable member of the WASH (water, hygiene, sanitation) club sharing some of the things she is learning, complete with many toilet “motions” and sounds, and more! We visited a woman with a healthy home who has been able to start a store and raise animals to increase her family’s income with the funds and time she has available now. She told us of how her children used to be very sick and in the hospital often but now were thriving.
Takeaways:
This is just a small snapshot of all the things we saw, footage and interviews we gathered. We can’t wait to start producing some of this content and share more with you!It was more than inspiring to experience our work firsthand and meet the wonderful people we are serving in the communities that need it most.In Kokosa, I remember the villagers telling us we are currently the only non-profit working in that area. No one else will work there because they are so remote—except for Water for Good.These people need us. They are desperately waiting for life-changing access to safe, reliable, clean water, improved sanitation, and hygiene. I hope the stories we share from this trip will inspire many more donors to partner with us in this urgent effort. Let’s end the water crisis for good—together.
By Shannon Kozee
Director of Marketing and Communication
