Do You Believe Me?
By Sada Andrews, Community Relations Manager

Issa, a health promoter with an easy smile, works in the southeastern region of Ethiopia, near Somalia. After traveling three days to Lifewater’s hygiene training in Awassa, Issa arrived with chicken pox that had emerged en route. Understandably, it took a few days for the seventeen other training participants to warm up to him!

Issa was unique among training participants for several reasons. He is a practicing Muslim raised in Kenya, and he does not speak Amharic, Ethiopia’s most common language. Of the several languages he knows, English was the one he used during the training.

After five days of classroom training, course participants put into practice what they’d learned by training community members from a village near Dodola, in Ethiopia’s highlands. Using a translator, Issa facilitated a lesson on the most critical times for handwashing: before handling food and after contact with fecal matter.

At the end of the lesson, Issa held up two posters of women cleaning up after small children had defecated. He asked, “Why is good hygiene especially important in these situations?” After a long silence, Issa continued, “I picked these posters because I want you to know that children’s feces have even more germs that adult feces. Some people believe that children’s feces do not have germs. But I want to be sure you know that belief is wrong . . .”

After Issa finished his explanation, the community members dutifully nodded in agreement, so I felt ready to move on to the next lesson. But Issa paused and asked a curious question: “Do you believe me?” The men and women fell silent and lowered their gaze. They slowly shook their heads and confessed, “No.”

Issa realized this issue needed more time. He explained again the dangers of contact with children’s feces, answered their questions with respect, and finally convinced them all that handwashing after cleaning children is critical to good health. “This is information we must tell others,” they all agreed.

Issa’s determination to work through tough issues makes all the difference. By discerning the community’s true feelings instead of going through the motions of teaching, he became an agent of real change. Issa’s humility and skill remind me of why Lifewater invests so much in equipping indigenous trainers to work among their people. With commitment and courage, he is saving lives.