Queen of the desert's precious cargo

Reuters

May 17, 2006

Tafesech Sahele (photo enlarged) talks with people gathering around her water truck in Moyale, Oromia district in Ethiopia in this February 11, 2006 file photo. REUTERS/Andrew Heavens

"People jump around and run up with their cans when they see the water tanker drive up. When they see it is me, they gather around to see a woman driver. It is very unusual," said Sahele, a 45-year-old mother of two.

She delivers water to the Moyale district on the border with Kenya, an area that has been hit hard by a drought affecting millions across the Horn of Africa.

This week, a senior UN official described the drought as a "silent tsunami", saying 8-million people in the region needed immediate aid. Kjell Magne Bondevik, the UN special envoy for the area, also said only 20% of an emergency $426-million appeal to prevent a disaster had been raised.

For the people of Moyale, Sahele provides a lifeline in a country where the government says more than 737 000 people do not have access to clean water after two successive rainy seasons failed.

Sahele has the sole responsibility of delivering water supplies to over 100 000 people. "It is all about life-saving so it is very fulfilling," Sahele said. "I really enjoy the job."

Most traditional hand-dug wells and cisterns have already dried up across in Moyale, which stretches across the remote southern border with Kenya and Somalia.

As a teenager, Sahele wanted to be a taxi driver in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, but instead she took a job with the government's federal disaster management commission, delivering containers of cereals across the country.

Earlier this year, the commission asked Sahele to start water deliveries to Moyale's mainly pastoralist population.

It's a tough job

She starts her shift at midnight, filling up her container at one of the district's few functioning motorised boreholes.

"You spend the night in the truck because you never know when the water pressure will be enough to fill the tanker. Then you wait to get your instructions for the day," she said.

After filling up, the long day starts

She trundles along hundreds of kilometres roads to pump water into the 17 wells, huge 5 000-litre water tanks and other water containers in the area.

The job takes it toll, not only on Sahele but on her lorry. The rough roads and long hours caused her truck to break down recently. She could not find spare parts, and her route was taken over by the Red Cross and another government driver.

"The trucks keep breaking down," said Daba Duguma, the regional government's water resource development officer for the Borena zone, which includes Moyale.

"They arrive. They start. Then they stop. Many of them become non-functional within two to three days of setting out. The environment is harsh and many of the drivers struggle to load the big ... tankers onto the back," he added.

There are only nine tankers operating in Borena, home to over a million people, he added.

"There is a shortage and very high demand. Most of the trucks are just unloading water straight into people's 20-litre jerry cans ... we need additionally some 15 trucks."