Matt Ness, of Eyes That See, attended WaterStep’s Water, Health and Hygiene training in early 2013 before traveling to Ethiopia. During a post-trip interview he shared some the excitement he and his team experienced while traveling.
Matt installed two systems during the trip, one in a “day-type orphanage” that he runs in Ethiopia and one in a home of women recovering from sex trafficking. At both sites health and hygiene was taught in supplementation to the M-100 installation to provide a sustainable foundation for the improvement to the lives of those living in this community. The families travel quite a distance down into a ravine where only dirty water is available. If too tired, tired because they are sick, they gather their water from a sewage/drainage ditch. After installation and training, they now have access to safe water and are on path to healthier living.
Another great story from Matt is of an Ethiopian friend who asked why the missionaries drink so much water when it is bad for you. Matt and his team explained that water is actually very good for you if it’s clean. The friend didn’t believe them and actually had a great fear of water because of the sickness it caused him. Matt and his wife wanted to share the value of clean water, and as this was pre-WaterStep involvement, they paid for a month’s worth of bottled water.
After one month the friend reported never feeling so good! For the first time he could remember his headache was gone, his skin became a shiny black, the whites of his eyes were actually white, and for the first time ever he had a firm bowel movement (it actually scared him). This man NEVER knew what it was like to live without dehydration. This is an amazing testimony of the impact drinking clean water can have.
