“The distribution (in Somali Region) lasted a little more than a month, and everything proceeded as anticipated, with the supervision of community facilitators”, reports Vittoria Curreri, a collaborator of the “International Volunteer Service for Development” (VIS), an agency which, together with the “Missioni Don Bosco” association of Turin, in the last months worked relentlessly to distribute drinking water to entire Ethiopian communities.
In each village where the distribution was made, a provisional committee was created with the task of regulating the flow of people and mediating in case of diatribes among the population.
Then, during the last weeks, there was an unusual early arrival of the season of rains, that were torrential and very heavy, to the point of causing damages and even some casualties in Giggiga, the chief ton of the region. The collaborator proceeds: “Soon after the first week of rains, the village committees got in touch with us to ask for the interruption of the distribution, because there was no more need”.
Out of precaution, the operations of providing water supplies continued for a few more days, then the distribution was discontinued: both because the abundance of rains had sufficiently provided the villages with clean water, and for the impossibility of reaching many flooded zones.
“The situation in the remotest villages has definitely improved in terms of access to water”. However, there are still many food problems and the purchase and distribution of essential food items is already being planned.
