Project # 007 - Gode Bridge

Location: Ethiopia; Somali State; Gode Zone
Bridge Sponsor: Rotary clubs of Virginia and Washington
Local Collaboration partners: Ecumenical Development Group for Somalis International and the Al-Nejah Charity Organization.
Bridge name: Bombada - Rhedub

Bridge Story: In Southern Ethiopia, close to the Somali border, a village lies on the Shebelle River – Babada. Eighty meters away, across the swift currents of one of Ethiopia's largest rivers, lies the village of Reythab. The people of Reythab and Babada are related. They are Bantu people who have lived in the area for centuries. Though there are many nomadic peoples in southern Ethiopia, the Bantu's are not. And unlike other Ethiopians that live close to the border with Somalia, they are not of Somali extract.

Two centuries ago the Bantu's ancestors were taken from their homes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi, and sold as slaves in Somalia as well as along the border areas of Southern Ethiopia. Most were sold by Arab slave traders to grow food for the advancing Arab armies. The Arabs were eventually defeated by the Bantu's and the Ethiopian Imperial Forces. And, for their loyalty to the Ethiopian Emperor in this war, they were granted both freedom from slavery and given the land they now live on. However, since the Bantu's were surrounded by a majority of Moslem Somali speaking nomadic tribes, the Bantus were forced to abandon their language and African cultural heritage. Even more tragic was the retreat of the Ethiopian Imperial forces to the Ethiopian highlands. Without protection from Ethiopia, the Bantus fell victims to the Somali tribes, which subjected them to segregation, humiliation, and forced labor. Thankfully, the Ethiopians retook what is now southern Ethiopia, and reestablished the Bantu's basic social freedoms and self rule. In spite of the misery of the last 200 years, the Bantu's remain a joyful and non-violent people.

The Bantu's have been forgotten or passed over by the western development community. The New York Times recently described them as "Africa's lost tribe." Whereas other ethnic groups have received much help in the way of schools, clinics, wells, etc., the proud Bantu's have not. So, even though they are desperate for help with clinics, irrigation systems, clean water, etc, there is one thing that they want help with more than any other . . . a bridge.

And they are willing to do whatever is in their power to help make a bridge a reality. The Bantu people live on what they can reap from the land. They do not trade in money, but in kind. They are even willing to trade their work hours for the materials needed for the construction of a bridge. Further, they will provide their own food and find all the materials they can locally for the construction of the bridge towers. And, of course, they will donate all the labor needed.

However, there is a problem: The river is wide and flat, and the rainy season brings the flood waters too high. Hence, the location requires a more expensive bridge with tall towers and high fencing so the camels can cross. The people are desperate. Their lives can not improve without access, not only to each other, but to markets, schools and health care. The Bantu's need this bridge. They will do their part. Will you join with us to help them secure the steel and cable materials, engineering, and training needed? Participate with us, so the Bantu people can be trained to build their own bridge, and in so doing, replace their tortured past with a hopeful future.