Mountains of enquiries

How do you proceed in the selection of new project areas?
Dr Martin Grunder: Enquiries from deprived regions are received by Menschen für Menschen via the district offices. These relate either to specific project topics – such as the water supply for a small town – or are enquiries for holistic aid, i.e. an integrated rural development project. Many people have seen how a project functions in the neighbourhood and apply to us accordingly. We collect these applications over the period of a year and select some of them for preliminary studies as soon as things get more specific.

How many enquiries accumulate prior to a decision?
Whole mountains! Parallel to this we also asked the government of Ethiopia to provide a list of needy districts in the federal states of Amhara and Oromia. In the case of Oromia we received a list of 27 suggestions. In the Amhara region we had already decided on the Borena area.

What was the reason for your decision in favour of Borena?
Borena lies in close proximity to Midda, a district in which we have already been active and where we handed over responsibility to the population in 2013. From there we had already conducted a preliminary study. The Borena area satisfies all our criteria.

What are the criteria for a new project area?
The crucial factor is, of course, the neediness of the population in the region. Besides this, no other non-government organisation should be active in the area. There must be potential for making a difference – ensuring success in the foreseeable future. And finally the local population must be willing to cooperate. Menschen für Menschen provides aid for self-development and does to wish to impose this help on anybody. For example, in agriculture we provide the improved seeds and consulting. But the executors are the local farmers.

In the case of Oromia – what is the next step once a list of needy regions has been compiled?
We usually make in-depth inspections of these areas, look at the current situation, the school situation, and speak to the people, the farmers. Often it quickly becomes obvious whether or not an area is eligible. 

Which are the exclusion criteria?
For instance, if we have the impression that the people enjoy basic prosperity, the area has a good coffee or vegetable production, rainfall is sufficient and the animals appear healthy. That convinces us that there are many other far more needy areas.

What happens when Menschen für Menschen finally decides on an area?
After the pre-selection of Borena and Ginde Beret we carried out in-depth studies. A survey of over 100 households was conducted in all communities and data collected. Based on this we prepared a project proposal for a three-year programme.

What data do you collect in this kind of survey?
We check the availability of water points, the number of schools, farming methods, the existence of irrigation systems, position of women in society and healthcare situation. It is then important to distribute the measures in the communities accordingly. 

How is a project of this kind organised?
The entire programme is discussed with the regional offices, i.e. the specialised offices for water, farming, women and health. In the communities themselves we and the government provide social workers and agricultural advisers who discuss the requirements, priorities and specific steps with the local population. We present the measures we consider necessary – such as soil conservation, composting, use and distribution of improved seeds, as well as measures to improve cattle rearing. The farmers then declare their interest for the respective measures.

What are the characteristics of the Borena area?
Borena is very remote and it has exceptional relief: deep valleys and mountains up to 4,000 metres above sea level make the area difficult to access. The climate is harsh. Borena is one of the core areas of the Ethiopian highlands. The soil is badly leached, overused and infertile. In the last few years there has been irregular rainfall, resulting in food shortages. But in our opinion Borena has potential: with irrigation, soil conservation and soil fertility measures the farmers can achieve higher yields. In cattle rearing it is possible to breed more productive animals, e.g. by growing forage crops and rotating pasture land.

Over what term is a new project area planned?
The minimum term of our projects is ten years; in most cases it is more likely to be 12 to 15 years. From Borena we can supervise four district projects, so it’s worthwhile staying there longer and making sustainable improvements. After all, the system must be brought up to speed and the infrastructure must be created.

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