I just searched for the Waraba town and first I thought it didn't exist outside the "Run for Water" campaign. But the FAO mentions it as a village in Amhara region, so the project could be legit (one has to be cautious here in the Bitcoin community, due to all the bad experiences ...).
Mainly I searched for it to know about the climate of the region, to answer @Jet Cash's post. It seems however a pretty green place, so I guess it could have a humid climate (which seems to be confirmed by the Wikipedia entry about Amhara region), and thus desalination wouldn't be an option for it (anyway, Ethiopia has no coastline, so there aren't any significant saltwater resources). Anyway, if the intention of the project is to improve the water supply technology, any efficiency improvement is also a step in the correct direction as this way less water gets lost on the way to the consumers.
BTW: What could be cool woud be a subforum for donation requests like these, I searched in the Marketplace and there doesn't seem such a category. The problem with "Bitcoin Discussion" is that threads with serious intentions get often buried under trivial topics, and it isn't also really the place for these topics
Thanks for your interest in the community and doing your due diligence...that is important!
The community of Waraba is in the Oromia region and it's GPS coordinates are 5°07'20.8"N 40°57'05.9"E (this can be found on the GiveTrack:
https://www.givetrack.org/project-details/9/Water-for-Waraba). It is a very remote community, which is why it can be challenging to find on a map and to find information about online. We, in partnership with
imagine1day in Ethiopia, identified Waraba as the community to work with after an in-depth survey with the community. While the government provides baseline data on each community, imagine1day goes above and beyond by going into each community to assess their needs. Waraba was identified as one of the most vulnerable communities based on its lack of access to any clean water source. The community has been asking its local government for support to get a water source a long time, but the government said they weren't able to provide the funds for at least 5 years. The stream they are currently relying on is shared with the animals and is often contaminated, meaning that 5 years is extending the serious risk to the community too long!
I understand that there are alternatives to providing water in different regions around the world, but the local water engineers in Ethiopia are the ones who create a feasible and sustainable system for each community. The community itself is involved in the process from the very beginning; moreover, they are part of planning, designing, implementing, decision making, monitoring and evaluating the project at all stages. This sense of ownership is critical to the longterm maintenance of the system.
We did just have a few of the Run for Water representatives visit the community, so if you have any specific questions I am happy to get the answer for you
