In 2002, Ballard resident Judy Sanderman travelled to Ethiopia as a tourist. Seven years later, she, along with her husband Dennis Wilkins, are working to bring change and optimism to some of that country's most desperate villages.

While in Ethiopia, Sanderman met Awoke Genetu, a retired history teacher. Upon returning to Seattle, Sanderman and Wilkins sent Genetu $300, which was used to purchase uniforms, books and school supplies for 25 children in a small rural school.

From this donation, a unique partnership between Sanderman, Wilkins, Genetu and his brother Workineh was formed, giving birth to Project Ethiopia.

In the past few years, Project Ethiopia, with the aid of donations, has helped to build latrines for 1,226 students and 60 families, facilitated the digging of eight wells, finished two pipe systems that carry water to thousands of students, and helped build 10 new homes in four villages.

Awoke Genetu said toilets are important because they break the cycle of disease in the homes and schools.

The lack of toilets is the biggest barrier keeping Ethiopian girls from attending school, Sanderman said.

Clean water from the wells and piping systems have increased cleanliness and cut down on the number of people who need to seek medical treatment, Genetu said.

"One woman told us, 'Water is medicine because we aren't sick now,'" Sanderman said.

Clean water has allowed children to wear freshly washed clothes and cut down on the cases of Tracoma, a disease of the eye.

Village men are even helping the women and children carry the water, which is unusual in Ethiopia, because the clean well water tastes so good, Sanderman said.

"Clean water is greatly improving the life of the community," Genetu said.

Project Ethiopia is helping to build houses with iron roofs and concrete floors. Concrete floors especially help cut down on disease and allow children to get a good night's sleep, Genetu said.

The changes Project Ethiopia have brought to Ethiopian villages are spawning their own kind of social change.

Villagers are making furniture when they didn't have any before, Wilkins said.

Sandermen said some are embroidering fertilizer bags or hanging newspaper clippings to decorate their homes.

She said the increase in concrete floors and clean water have given villagers hope and a positive outlook for their futures.

Genetu said once villagers had nice floors, they were motivated to improve their walls and the rest of their homes.

"It was like having new shoes but no trousers," he said.

Apart from the occasional failure of a well or resistance to a new idea (one villager asked Sanderman why he should go to the bathroom in a box when he could breath the open air instead), Project Ethiopia has suffered few setbacks.

Sanderman said she credits the project's success to Awoke and Werkineh, without who setbacks would have been many.

The brothers understand the culture and needs of the villagers and are always listening to them, she said.

Genetu said they have had success because they are not imposing change, which would fail. They encourage and help villagers to solve their own problems and employ local people as masons, carpenters and well-diggers.

For example, Project Ethiopia will offer blocks and a lid for a latrine, but villagers have to dig and build it, he said. A tractor would make farming easier for the villagers, so Project Ethiopia is helping them with ways to save up to buy one instead of buying it for them, he said.

Through this process, villagers feel ownership over the improvements in the village, Genetu said. They respect the new structures because they helped to build them, he said.

Genetu also credits the support and energy of Sanderman and Wilkins.

"It helps that we are old," Sanderman said. "They say, 'You are old. You could stay at home and have someone feed you.'"

The next steps for Project Ethiopia are building libraries for students and introducing new farming techniques that can coexist alongside traditional methods. For example, Project Ethiopia is experimenting with urine as a natural crop fertilizer that could save farmers $250 per year in chemical fertilizer.

Sanderman said the goal is to create villages that can serve as models for other villages.

"Everything we're doing can be replicated," she said. "We hope it will just keep going."

Genetu said he wants to see the villages become healthier and more productive. A healthier community leads to a more productive community, which leads to positive social changes, he said.

"Social change is a slow process," Genetu said. "It will take us many years. But, once it is accepted, it will be hard to lose."

Ballardites have the opportunity to meet Awoke Genetu this weekend while he is visiting Seattle.

Project Ethiopia will be giving a presentation at 1 p.m., Aug. 8 at the Sunset Hill Community Center, hosting a benefit concert at 7 p.m., Aug. 8 at the Sunset Hill Community Center, and speaking at 10 a.m. Aug. 9 at the Interfaith Community Church.

Project Ethiopia is looking for more donations, 100 percent of which go toward village projects. Sanderman and Wilkins pay for all travel and administrative expenses.