The Zakat Foundation of America

Zakat Foundation Water Well development - Ethiopia

Imagine that in order to get water for your family and your live- stock to drink, you must walk long hours, over ten miles, in the scorching heat, with no trees to shade you and no cool water to quench your thirst until you arrive at your destination. Imagine now that you must wake up everyday to make that same trek to water in order to survive.

To spare hundreds of Somali and Ethiopian women and young children from this laborious journey, Zakat Foundation has built a water well in the village of Chiri in the Oromia Region of central Ethiopia. More than 2,000 people and their livestock living in and around Chiri benefit from cool, clean water that is easily accessible. The construction of the well, which was supervised by a Zakat Foundation representative and the American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa, has also provided jobs for the local Chiri community.

The Oromia Region of Ethiopia is outside of the Somali Regions but its areas have nonetheless experienced a mass influx of refugees. from war-torn Somalia. Along with the lack of basic necessities— food, shelter, and clean water—in impoverished areas, the suffering of Somali refugees and poor Ethiopians has been exacerbated by a severe drought that has dried out the Horn of Africa for the last decade.

Ethiopia: Each Drop of Water is Like A Gram of Gold

Davud used to walk for hours everyday to reach water. After Zakat Foundation of America (ZF) established a water well in Ethiopia's Barbare District, Davud and others do not have to walk far to fetch water for their families. Davud's experience with water scarcity was very painful. When a person is not able to obtain water, the value of each… continue reading »