When Terry Hillaby, a vice-president of EBA Engineering Consulting in Edmonton, was planning the celebration for the company’s 40th anniversary, he knew he wanted to reflect a company core value –“improving its communities.” After hearing about the successful work that Partners in the Horn of Africa and its “partner,” the Ethiopian charity, AWWA, were doing in the drought stricken region of Wollo, the engineering firm knew it could help. EBA decided to assist and fund the construction of “cribs” and reservoirs to protect and retain water from year round springs. Partners and AWWA have been working with the local villagers in this Northern Ethiopian region for the past couple of years to improve the residents’ supply of drinking water. Water borne parasites are one of the leading causes of death and disease in Ethiopia. Less than 25% of the population has access to clean water. The spring protection project undertaken by Partners, AWWA and EBA will develop and protect five separate water supply systems.

The company chose Brian Adeney, one of its senior engineers, as the project leader. “ I was selected because I had a background in water resources and could judge how EBA’s resources could best be allocated to benefit the project. I was also excited about sharing the information with the rest of the employees and willing to travel in harsh conditions, having previously helped out with hurricane relief in the Caribbean.”

Brian worked with Tesfaye Tefera, an Ethiopian engineer who prepared all the costing, scheduling and supervising of the work. Their goal was to provide separate collection areas - one for drinking water and one for livestock and washing. Their team looked at 10 potential sites for spring protection. They tested the water and selected 5 with suitable water flow and easy access for the villagers. More than 1,000 people will benefit from each of these sites.

The Ethiopian rainy season begins in June, so construction started in March with some urgency. All supplies, including hand shovels, cement, rocks and piping, had to be carried to the work site by donkey or man. And, as it true in all Partners’ projects, the local villagers provide the labour as their contribution to this much needed and appreciated project.

The benefits to the Ethiopian villagers are obvious. However, the excitement about the project within EBA has been enormous. Brian has given 6 presentations of his Ethiopian experiences within the company and in February he spoke to senior managers and clients about EBA’s involvement to an enthusiastic response. A second engineer, Katherine Johnston from EBA’s Whitehorse office has been chosen to go to Ethiopia in May to oversee some of the construction. She also will be taking CARE packages with her for the villagers from other employees of EBA.

For Brian, his excitement extends beyond EBA. Once construction work is completed in Ethiopia, he plans to speak to other engineering groups and associations. He says, “It has been an incredible experience not only to share my engineering knowledge but also to learn so much about the Ethiopian people by living and working with them for a common goal,”

For Partners in the Horn of Africa, the spring protection project marks a new form of “partnership”, one involving the “hands on” participation of Canadian firms helping Ethiopians to help themselves.