Project # 010 - Dessie Bridge

Location: Ethiopia; on the edge of the City of Dessie; 200 miles North of Addis Ababa.
Bridge Sponsor: Rotary Clubs of Midlothian and Gloucester, Virginia
Other Donors: 22 Rotary clubs from Virginia and Washington State; Rotary International; District 7610; Bridges to Prosperity Members.
Local Collaboration partners: Helvetas*, ESRDF*, and the Eder (Eder means volunteers who help the less fortunate) group of Dessie.

Bridge name: Dessie Town Bridge
River name: Desso
Bridge span: 45 meters (148 feet)
Population served by bridge: 14,000 (though, many more of the cities 200,000+ residents will undoubtedly use it as well)
Expected traffic: Moderate-Heavy: 50-100 crossings per hour

Bridge Story: Dessie, with a population of over 200,000, is a city with the feel of a rural town. The people are mixture of farmers (mainly teff and wheat), businessmen, and daily workers.

It is here, for 3 months of every year, a section of the city and its residence must make a one hour detour by foot to reach schools, clinics, markets, and work. Yet, during the dry season, these things are mere minutes away. Imagine living in a place where you need to wade across the Desso river everyday on your way to work. But, today, the river is high. Should you risk wading across? The other choice is to walk 4 miles around the river. We do not know how many such fateful decisions have been made that resulted in drowning, but reoccurring deaths at such crossings is normal in this land of few or no bridges. We do know, however, what happened last year when several small children risked crossing on their way to school. They all died, causing this city to join together in grief to find a way to prevent such deaths in the future.

When we first arrived here in December 2003 to survey this river, a small stream trickled where the flood roars during the wet season. A blind schoolteacher greeted us upon our arrival and tapped with his cane across the stream and stones to his home, only to return later with two Eder members in tow. An Eder is a voluntary group whose members contribute time and money towards assisting those in the community in need, such as providing school tuition for orphans, medicines for the sick, and comfort for the elderly. Much like Rotarians, Eders are those that have either a little extra money, or time to give to their communities.

Ato Tekleyesus, the Director of the school (grades 1 to 8) on the town side of the Desso River, expressed his concern for the children whom are denied education for three months of every year. He told us about the Eder group that helps some 50 orphans and poor children who attend his school. He said the Eders assist by paying these children's school fees ($1.25 per student per year!) and by providing their exercise books. He also expressed concern about the lack of access to the only high school, which was on the other side of the river as well.

Eder members, Ato Adem Mohammed (Eder Chairman) and Ato Kasa Ali Mohammed, had no hesitation in telling us that they would do anything to help construct a bridge at the chosen location, including assuring us that they would provide and contribute all of the labor, both skilled and unskilled. During our meeting with the Eders, a problem of providing the local materials was discussed. In rural areas, sand, rock and stone are typically plentiful at a river. But here, in the city, all such materials had long since been used in the construction of their homes. When asked if the community would rather contribute labor or money, the Eder members were unanimous that labor would be the preferable contribution. Labor exists in abundance here, but cash is very difficult to come by. After all, we are talking about local workers that earn only $1-2 per day. Yet, the Eders did not hesitate. Despite the difficulty in raising cash, the Eder members promised to purchase and deliver all of the sand, gravel and stone as well. At the close of the meetings, the community signed and stamped a letter promising all of the above. The deal was done, a new partnership forged. It was time for everyone to go to work.

NOTES: *Helvetas is a Swiss charity based in Zurich, Switzerland and has provided funding for transportation, steel fabrication at the Selam Institute, and other miscellaneous expenses not provided for in the Rotary International grant. A Helvetas mission in Nepal also provided for the training, program, and bridge design that is being used in Ethiopia today. Simply put, there would be no Ethiopia mission without the wealth of information and training they provided us. Learn more on the worldwide mission of Helvetas.

*The Ethiopian Social Rehabilitation and Development Fund or ESRDF encourages community based initiatives by providing local support to those that do so. In this case, the ESRDF has provided logistics and jeep transportation support to Bridges to Prosperity. Learn more about the ESRDF.