The Weyto Village in Bahir Dar
The Weytos are the original indigenous people from Lake Tana in Bahir Dar. They live in two villages, one with a population of 2500 and the other with 300 inhabitants.
When we first visited the smaller of the two villages we were completely shocked by the inhumane condition in which elders, mothers and children are living. They face acute malnutrition. Most people were very sick and had terrible foot disease. Later, we discovered they suffer from gangrenous typhoid and elephantitis. The reason: poverty, they don't have shoes resulting in numerous bacteria entering the skin from a small wound or scratch.
The Weytos are hippopotamus hunters, a tradition that is not accepted by other tribes in Ethiopia. For this reason and because they are very poor and therefore not very clean, they are often treated like outcasts and are alienated from society. Until recently, the children did not go to school and the only income the Weytos have is from hand weaving papyrus baskets and boats. The village lies about three kilometres from the shore of Lake Tana and as such, it is very difficult to obtain sufficient water supply. It has to be transported manually. They currently live in small straw huts, which during the rainy season, get fully saturated by water.
What Alchemy World has provided to date:
- Shoes and clothes for the village children
- Emergency food
- Emergency medical care (resulting in a noticeable improvement to foot
diseases)
- Primary level schooling for some of the children
What Alchemy World plans to do:
- Include as many young Weyto people as possible in our
Entrepreneurship Classes
- Find a new permanent site for the villagers
- Build 120 weather-proof mud huts with concrete flooring
at a cost of $1250 each.
- Build a set of pit latrines and 2 wells for water supply
at a total cost of $13,500.
- Run social integration courses and provide ongoing coaching
for 2 years at a total cost of $7500.
- Provide nutritional supplements against malnutrition
at an annual cost of $12,000.
- Provide clothes, especially for the children going to school
at a total cost of $10,000.
- Create village self-sustainability by using their skills with the papyrus reed
to build traditional papyrus boats and basketware at a total cost of $25.000.
The funding will cover tools, warehousing, and building a sales distribution
network, beyond the confines of the local town.
