After 23 years of desolation, the remote lowland village of Gerba in southern Ethiopia has begun to flourish once more, thanks to a World Vision water project that made clean drinking water available to the district.

Highlanders from Humbo and Soddo districts had long desired to settle in Gerba, attracted by the vast amounts of fertile land available for farming and cattle grazing. But it wasn't until the provision of water that the first families began resettling there. Since then, many more have followed.

Life was very hard in the highland, according to Merkene Yaya, with only a quarter-hectare of land to tend. The financial return from farming there was minimal. Going to the lowland had always been in Merkene's mind, so when he heard the news of the water World Vision had made available in Gerba, he didn't hesitate to make the trek from the highlands in order to begin a new life for himself and his family.

After building their turkuls (mud and grass huts), new residents like Merkene have begun cultivating their four- to six-hectare plots of land. Cash crops like red peppers and cotton, as well as maize and beans, are among the crops he is growing. Merkene intends to become a full-time farmer in Gerba and looks forward to a better life here.