Birhan Spring Flows Again

Even when she reached the spring, the struggle continued. The discharge was low, and the line moved slowly. “Due to the low discharge capacity and long queues at the water point, I traveled two rounds a day to fetch two jerricans only per day,” she says. 

Waiting had its own cost. Feleg describes water that was untreated, mixed with debris at the damaged collection point. “Many children suffered from diarrhea and other waterborne diseases due to the untreated water,” she says, “and the damaged collection point… had dirty waste, human refuse, and other debris.” 

Tensions rose during peak times. “Conflicts often arose,” she adds. “And many girls faced harassment… while traveling to the water point.” 

In her household, she carried responsibility for herself. “The responsibility for fetching water primarily falls on me,” she says. 

And she noticed how water scarcity rippled outward, beyond her own home. “Due to the imbalance between water demand and supply, I noticed many children missing school because of the long distances and long waits at the water points.” 

When the spring stopped working completely, the coping options were worse. “When the water point was non-operational, I used water from nearby unprotected ponds,” Feleg says. 

To make what little they had last, she describes cutting back on basic hygiene. “To conserve water, my family and I often skipped regular washing of our bodies and clothes.” 

That is what “before” looked like in Birhan: two trips a day, two jerrycans, and the constant calculation of what could wait.

Then the spring was rehabilitated through an Oxfam project funded by the European Union’s humanitarian aid (ECHO). 

The work in Tigray is part of a wider ECHO-supported response in northern Ethiopia, where Oxfam rehabilitated rural water schemes, including springs, benefiting 63,750 IDPs, returnees, and host community members, and to strengthen community water committees to keep systems running. 

For Feleg, the change is immediate and practical.

"After the spring water point was worked, I now have access to quality water," she says.

Water is not something she negotiates for hours anymore.