How Rotary Club Partnerships Bring Hope to Remote Ethiopian Villages

For the past six years, Village Health Partnership (VHP) and the Rotary clubs of Northeastern Colorado have collaborated to address critical health issues in rural Ethiopia with our focus of saving mothers and children, as well as improving water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). It is a partnership grounded in principles of human rights, collaboration, and sustainable programs.
There are 60 Rotary clubs in district D5450 and we have partnered with eight that have contributed financially— and in two cases programmatically.  These partnerships, beginning in 2018, have been instrumental in addressing the most pressing challenges faced by several communities in rural Ethiopia. By focusing on community-based initiatives, VHP ensures solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of the people they serve.

VHPs Transformative Initiatives

• Circuit Riding: This program keeps our 10 sites running smoothly. This team of in-country professionals are the backbone of our operation. They tackle issues like power supplies or well maintenance, visiting four times a year to make repairs and train others. This not only fixes problems but builds local expertise for future sustainability.
• Data-Driven Innovation: Our newer initiatives—the WASH app and clinical CASH app – rely on solid data. On-site procedures, cultural appropriateness, and regular assessments ensure effective implementation.
• Clean Water and Hygiene: Our work directly benefits hundreds of people annually in smaller villages. Clean water and hygienic practices, coupled with improved medical care, reduce the spread of disease, maternal and infant mortality, and enhance rural life quality.
• Building An Integrated Health System of Care: Small health centers like Tum serve thousands, while larger ones like Bachuma and Maji can directly reach over 150,000. Together the facilities that we are working in form a health system of care for more people in this isolated and underserved part of rural Ethiopia.
• Dignity and Respect: Maternity waiting areas, showers, pit latrines, and water systems – these improvements not only enhance safety but also foster dignity for women.
• Elevating Healthcare Standards: Training healthcare providers in safe and hygienic practices leads to better quality care and reduces childbirth complications. This, along with designated biohazard areas and accessible handwashing stations, creates a safer environment for mothers and newborns.

Over $50,000 in Rotary grants, with typical amounts varying from $2000-$5000, have contributed to six projects and programs. In 2018, our first Rotary grant helped contribute to our Screen Transport and Treat Program (STTP). In the context of maternal health, VHP has focused on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects and with the contributions from Rotary Clubs we have been able to accomplish the following initiatives.

• Nurse Midwife training: Thanks to the support of four Rotary Clubs, nearly 100 nurse midwives have received training in basic emergency, gynecological, and neonatal care.
• Bachuma Hospital: In 2020, VHP’s first Rotary district grant funded a well and related systems at Bachuma Hospital. Three Rotary clubs contributed to this project, and to a solar power system for labor and delivery, the operating room theatre and the NICU that was implemented earlier this year.
• Tum Clinic: The Denver SE Rotary Club helped install a water tank at Tum Clinic. Additionally, Ethiopian women participating in the Tum health program received thoughtful gifts of hand-knitted sweaters from a friend of Peter Van Arsdale.
• Siz District Hospital: Laury Bowman’s leadership at University Hills Rotary Club secured funding for a solar-powered pump. A second district matching grant was utilized.
• STTP program: The Screen Transport and Treat Program has helped over 1,000 women struggling with uterine prolapse and fistula. Rotary clubs in Denver have also contributed to this program.

Our programming is systemic and multi-sectoral. We address not only immediate health needs, but also long-term sustainability. Four key constructs —sustainability, capacity building, affordability, and accessibility—guide our work and thinking. VHP and Rotary share a commitment to human rights and collaborative action, bridging interests and ensuring tailored solutions for the communities we serve. In the West OMO Zone of Southwestern Ethiopia our WASH and Maternal Health initiatives have impacted more that 700,00 people.