Ayo River Bridge Project
Connecting communities, saving lives, and enabling development
The Challenge
- An estimated 60,000 villagers on both sides of the river cross the river in the main rainy, or kiremt, season.
- An estimated 11,000 people cross the river every Saturday to go to the market in Azena Town, the only market in the area.
- As many as 600 children had to cross the river to attend the only school in the area in Azena Town.
- Many students missed exams and repeated grades when the river was high and a considerable number of students drowned.
- Pregnant women in labor and people with serious illnesses could not access medical services that are found in towns on the other side of the river.
- Attending burial ceremonies and important church services, visiting family members and friends, or accessing government services such as courts and police stations were often impossible during the rainy season.
- Between 20 and 30 people drowned each year trying to cross the Ayo River and many more lives were lost due to the barrier this river posed to transporting patients to medical care.
The Impact
- Created access for mothers and children to health services and schools
- Enabled farmers to market their agricultural outputs and inputs and other social and economic necessities
- Solved varied and extensive problems of the community and hence helped expedite rural development
"As you all know, the river has been a constant menace to this community for many, many years. It has stood between brothers and sisters, between parents and their children; it kept each one of us apart from our friends, relatives, and our loved ones. It has also taken the lives of so many in our community. But thanks to a Canadian organization and Dr Getnet, we were able to build a bridge over the river and put an end to all of that."
"Today, we are able to pay one another a visit, we are able to take our sick ones to the hospital, we are able to go to the market as we please, celebrate our joys together, and bury our dead and mourn for them together because of that bridge. It has brought people of this community together and it has also brought the government closer to the people. I cannot put in words all the joy that this bridge has brought to this community; I can only say thank you to Dr Getnet and the Canadian organization and congratulate the community on this tremendous achievement."
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