In 2009, the Gathering Place Church, in partnership with New Hope Church, Life-Bridge Church and e3 Partners, adopted an unreached people group called the Arsi Oromo. We have sent several teams from GPC to Ethiopia to minister with e3 Partners, and are now joining our efforts together to put a well in each village over a certain region where the Arsi Oromo people live. You can also read below the exciting report about a water well we helped set up.
About Arsi Oromo People, Ethiopia
The Arsi are a subsistence farming people who live in an arid, high plateau area. This area suffers from inadequate, locally-available, clean drinking water due to a lack of nearby springs and wells. As a consequence, water-borne disease, stemming from the use of tainted stream water, is the top killer of children.
Statistics
- Population: 2 million
- Poor, rural, agricultural.
- 90% Muslim. Strong traditional influences of animism and superstition.
- Low literacy rate (42%); high birth rate (5/woman); average lifespan 49 years.
- 3.5% of adults have HIV.
- Top cause of death is water-borne disease (dysentery, diarrhea, etc.)
Click here to view more information about the Arsi Oromo
Meet Some of the People of Arsi Oromo and learn about their needs:
According to the United Nations, there are 59 million people without access to safe water in Ethiopia and most of these people make less than $2 per day, including the Arsi Oromo.
1 out of every 10 children never has a 1st birthday.
This year, over 500,000 Ethiopians will die before the age of 5. (1/2 of the children under the age of 5 die each year from diarrhea.)
In rural Ethiopia, they walk up to 6 hours to collect water (5-8 miles) in a jug weighting 40-50 lbs.
Our Vision: To not only bring the living water, but also water to live.
Our Goal: To put a well in each village. (Starting with the first 10 we’ve targeted)
Strategic Initiatives
Church Planting and Discipleship
Healthy and growing, self-reproducing churches, led by Ethiopians (lay-men and women), are essential to developing and sustaining prosperous and just communities. To this end we pursue church planting and discipleship strategies among the Arsi Oromo people. In partnership with the South Ethiopian Evangelical Churches Fellowship, we support community-wide strategies to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ. In order to meet the needs of all education levels, we utilize oral learning strategies to communicate the Bible to illiterate learners. As well, each of our development strategies and initiatives are based on Biblical principles which are clearly communicated, leading hearts and minds to understand God’s plan for peace with Him and others. We offer training which helps churches understand and apply their role as God’s representative to the community, called to demonstrate and communicate his mercy and justice.
Self-Help Groups
In partnership with Ethiopia Kale Hewot Church, we support the expansion of the Self-Help Group movement within Arsi Oromo villages. Rooted in the truth that all people created in the image of God with great potential to be creative and productive members of their family and community, such groups promote significant, positive behavior changes that fuel the development process. In such small groups, members are trained to use their own resources to increase economic stability, pursue enterprise, and help the needy. These self-multiplying groups create diverse opportunities for leading people to Christ and broad social change.
Well Drilling and Hygiene Training
In partnership with Water is Life International and Selam Awassa Business Group we pursue water projects in Arsi villages with a desire to demonstrate the compassion of Christ. In order to do so, we follow WILI’s four-stage approach to provide access to safe water (Survey, Drill, Install, Self Help Groups). We support a process of community participation including financial commitment and strategic planning which builds ownership and responsibility for long-term results. The primary role of Africa Water and Life is in fundraising and identifying strategic opportunities for water projects to increase holistic development in Arsi villages.
Technical and Vocational Training
Visit http://www.africawaterandlife.com/
Did you know?
250,000 children die in Ethiopia each year due to water-born disease.
More than 80 percent of all disease in Ethiopia is attributed to poor access to clean water and sanitation. (i.e. scabies, eye infections, diarrhea, etc.)
A drilling rig costs approximately $200,000. Done. / Our first well in our main village of Kalo is already dug but needs completion. Click to view Recent water well and video presentation .
The total cost is $65,000. (Most other wells will only cost approximately $5000 each but the water table below Kalo is very deep.)
$39,000 has already been raised which leaves a balance of $26,000.
We have a donor who will give $8,000 if we can raise the remaining $18,000.
We sponsor students from Arsi Oromo villages in the Selam Awassa Technical and Vocational Training College receiving practical training in general mechanics and electrical installation for upright buildings. Students also receive theoretical courses in their discipline as well as in English, entrepreneurship, and small business management.
You can give online to this project by visiting http://www.africawaterandlife.com/
