WASH Media Forum

WASH Media Forum exposure field visit mobilized a team of thirteen Journalists from nine media organizations to Bale Robe Rural WaSH Project, found in Oromia Region, Bale zone, which is about 400 KM far from the capital, Addis Ababa. The fieldtrip was organized from 13 – 15 March 2012. According to the project Manager in the area, the project had been initiated by WaterAid in Ethiopia in 1989 and also financed and managed by the same organization for seven consecutive years. After handed over to the community ten years from now, the project has been fully managed by the community themselves through the already established WaSH Office, the WaSH committee and board. The project is now delivering safe water for more than 130,000 people including the Bale Robe town. The sanitation and hygiene services are also high in the project area.
The journalists had good opportunity to discuss and learn from the community, project staffs and also from Health Extension Workers about the impact of the project in the lives of people living in and around the project area, and also the project management, challenges and success and other related issues. Following the field visit, the journalists had produced a number of media reports in their respective media outlets.

Journalists had the chance to communicate with beneficiaries of the project Photo credit: WaterAid/WASH Movement