The Shera village in Agata Kebele, Geta Woreda, Central Ethiopia, has achieved Open Defecation Free (ODF) status, a significant health achievement led by an exemplary and highly motivated Shera Saving and Loan Association (SLA). This group, which was established in 2022, is unique among those formed by COWASH IV as all 30 member households are represented by women.

The SLA is chaired by Belay Dinku, who credits the crucial training provided by COWASH IV on leadership, management and financial governance for her success. Belay’s effective leadership ensured all her members built improved household latrines, laying the ground for the entire village to achieve ODF status.

COWASH IV facilitates the establishment of these SLA groups to financially empower communities to construct their own improved household latrines, while also providing crucial training programmes. In the wider Agata Kebele, COWASH IV has facilitated the establishment of five SLAs, all of whose members successfully built improved household latrines, leading to the Kebele being officially declared ODF.

The shift in the Shera village’s sanitation practice is profound. Belay recalls the past when people relied on natural spaces, such as the Enset (false banana) fields in their backyards, for defecation. Now, with the construction of improved household latrines, environmental hygiene has become the norm. Belay also highlights the significant change in behaviour and health outcomes adding that when she was a child, her hands often itched due to poor hygiene caused by the lack of proper latrines.  She says, there is a lot of change now where they actively maintain environmental and personal hygiene.

This commitment to hygiene and the quality of leadership is evident to anyone who visits their village. Abebech Gebreyohannes, the Kebele’s Health Extension Worker, specifically commended Belay for her leadership skills in effectively mobilizing her SLA members to save. Derbe Melese, the SLA’s Treasurer, agrees, noting that Belay effectively manages the group despite having many responsibilities at home. Beyond her village, Mifta Sherif, the COWASH IV Community Managed Project (CMP) Advisor at the Woreda, says Belay and her group have become a model for other SLAs due to her strong leadership.

Financial Independence and Future Goals

The Shera SLA group’s disciplined approach included saving 10 Birr per week. Belay remembers their collective determination: during construction, when members were short of money, they each sold a chicken to make up the difference and add to their savings.

Now that all members have achieved their goal of constructing an improved latrine, the group has chosen to keep meeting regularly to discuss sanitation and hygiene issues, with the kebele’s health extension worker attending to provide ongoing advice and training. Their next goal is to bring water directly to their houses using their pooled SLA savings. Their long-term vision also includes starting a local small business to produce and sell liquid soap for themselves and the community and installing solar systems in their households.

This financial independence is supported by COWASH IV’s infrastructure efforts, which included the construction of a community water point, ensuring Belay and her community have a nearby safe water supply.

Learn more about Belay’s inspiring journey and our work in SLA by checking out our documentary titled: “Building with Savings: Community Ownership” –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA4ljAarcCs&t=3s