The ICRC’s water and habitat programme aims to restore or expand access to a wide range of essential services for people-affected by conflict – and ultimately, improve their living conditions and quality of life.
Hindia (Ethiopia): clean water closer to home
In Ethiopia, a lack of running water was a daily reality for Makia (see page 1) and thousands of others in Roggee, a small town in Oromia region affected by both conflict and climate change.
Hindia Adem, a seventy-year-old resident, says: “At my age, I walked 20 kilometers to fetch dirty water. We left for water at 2am and returned at 1pm. Our children were exhausted.”
Everything changed after we dug a deep water well and set up a system consisting of pumps powered by solar panels and a back-up generator, and pipes connecting the water source to the local clinic, cattle troughs and other important facilities. “Now we are free from all that burden,” she says. “I feel so delighted for a moment like this.”
Ngwa Lu Paw and his family (Myanmar): a place to call their own
Many areas of Kachin State in Myanmar have now become silent spaces scarred by armed conflict, with many people forced to flee for their safety. “We had been living in the camp for ten years,” says Ngwa Lu Paw. But every family deserves a home of their own. So we built one for him and his family, and dozens of others. We equipped each house with a kitchen, a private toilet, solar power and clean water systems.
“We are grateful that we now have a place to live” he says. His child has already put a personal touch on their new walls.
Armenia: creating better spaces for children
Violence had forced many families to flee to Mets Masrik, a village near Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. Its only secondary school – which had not been renovated in decades – could not accommodate the growing number of children.
“Can you imagine a modern school for 400 students without a toilet or water? Finally, we turned to the ICRC for support,” says Anna Gasparyan, the deputy principal.
We stepped in and renovated a classroom for the displaced children, fixed the toilets, provided access to water inside the school. We also built a safe room, where people could seek shelter in case of shelling, in the kindergarten.
“These efforts give us hope to live, a sense of security and the assurance of being cared for. We associate the ICRC with a feeling of security and peace,” she says.
Conflict-affected communities are already among the most vulnerable in the world, and climate change further erodes their ability to adapt. Fighting ravages crops and herds, which often fuels tensions: people are forced to compete over limited land for farming or pasture, and watering holes that are slowly drying up to due to drought.
Many of our projects take climate risks into account. We use Eco-friendly technology whenever possible, and we often work in places where water is scarce and the potential for violence is high.
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