The Rotary Club of Fort Collins Breakfast (RCFCB) and Rotary District 5440 completed a Rotary District Grant in 2024 to provide potable water to a village utilizing the Laga Chali spring southwest of Nekemte, Ethiopia.  This is the eighth village in Ethiopia that has had their water system upgraded by the RCFCB and cooperators.  The idea for this project was developed by Dr. Fekadu Tamiru Gebissa, an assistant professor of geophysics at Wollega University, and the staff at the Central Highlands Foundation.  The Murulle Foundation and the Rotary Club of Nekemte also contributed to this project. 
The project involved digging out the original surface-water spring that the villagers were using and building a stone-and-concrete cap to protect the spring and which allows for cleaning and maintenance.  In this gravity-fed system, the water is piped to distribution points that include a single pipe with continuously running water and a concrete stand with six faucets (three on each side) where women and girls collect the water.  Two double clothes-washing stands were also built so that women could wash clothes with clean water in a convenient location. 
 
The local community repaired the damaged access road (caused by heavy rains), unloaded supplies, dug trenches for the pipes, and participated in other work.  Sand and cement were purchased locally and rocks were available near the sites.  A local contractor assisted with construction.  The Rotary Club of Nekemte managed the bank account and club officials traveled to the site to oversee the work.
 
The primary beneficiaries are the 1,578 people who use the spring as the source for all their water which includes 870 villagers, 657 students, 45 teachers, two health professionals, and four agricultural professionals who provide training to the farmers.  The total cost of the project was $10,707 with funding from Rotary District 5440, The Murulle Foundation, the Central Highlands Foundation, and the RCFCB.