Iron Roofs in New Kebeles
Diyene celebrating her new iron roof house with her neighbors
This past year has brought many challenges to Ethiopia due to armed conflict that has arisen in the Dangla area. The conflict has impaired transportation, communication, schools, and almost every aspect of daily life for Ethiopians in our area. Yet, our Ethiopian Project manager, Workineh Genetu, has persisted and persevered, addressing the most basic needs of the people with all the resources at his disposal. Supporting the building of new homes for people most in need is one project area that we have been able to continue uninterrupted right up to the beginning of the rainy season, which just recently has begun.
Currently we have either completed or are working in an area which is about twice the size of Seattle. This year we are expanding the building of new homes into 3 new kebeles in northwestern Dangla Woreda: Badani (population 3,274), Zurzur (population2,893) and Gissa (Population 8,346). This area is rural and mountainous, and the soil is less fertile compared to other kebeles in Dangla, which leads to a comparatively lower standard of living there. Gissa is the largest kebele in the Dangla Woreda and consists of a cluster of 10 small villages. It is also the location of the plant where iron roofing is manufactured. This eases transportation problems, since no motorized vehicles have been permitted on the roads, and iron roofing and other supplies must be transported by donkey cart.
When we begin building homes in a new village, our Project Director Workineh Genetu meets with community elders and kebele leaders to determine who is most in need (widows, the sick, elderly ,orphans, and others in financial need) to make the selection fair and transparent. For example, Diyene is a former recipient of a new iron roof who lives in the Zagray Zubra community. She was a widow with no income and no shelter, relying on relatives for a place to live. The community came together to provide Diyene with a small plot of land on which to build her new home. They also donated eucalyptus wood and many volunteer hours to help construct the building and prepare the mud and straw plaster. Project Ethiopia provided the iron roofing, and also paid for other necessary items as she had no resources whatsoever to use toward construction.
“The new home recipients expressed great happiness. We are still in a difficult time here, and no one was expecting such generosity and sacrifice.”
The first step prior to roofing installation is building a eucalyptus wood frame (walls and roof) to accommodate the rectangular sheets of corrugated iron. This step, along with preparing the mud/straw plaster for the walls, is typically handled by the recipients’ family. However, if the recipient is not able to provide the materials and labor for this task, neighbors and friends quickly came together to assist. They provide the wood and nails for construction and volunteer carpentry support to build the home. In a short period of time the new home is built, and Project Ethiopia installs the new iron roofing – just in time for the rainy season! According to Workineh, “The new home recipients expressed great happiness. We are still in a difficult time here, and no one was expecting such generosity and sacrifice.”
Providing iron roofing to rural villagers is part of Project Ethiopia’s Healthy Homes program, which also includes the provision of solar lanterns to villagers in rural Ethiopia. These lanterns provide valuable hours of additional light and power and can replace either costly kerosene lamps posing significant health and climate risks or poor-quality lanterns and flashlights that require regular battery replacement. These devices can also serve as for charging cell phones, which are common in rural areas such as Dangla, and are particularly useful in enabling farmers who live at great distances from each other to communicate effectively.
Because of our longstanding involvement in Dangla Woreda, all of our projects benefit from a high level of volunteer involvement, our greatest asset. Relying on local villagers saves time and money, stretching and maximizing our resources. Just as important, it builds trust, resulting in pride of ownership and a commitment to ongoing maintenance. Whenever possible, Project Ethiopia buys its materials directly from local merchants and businesses. When more expertise is needed, our funds are used to hire local workers for project tasks.
