Awassa, Ethiopia, August 20, 2008 - People in Need (PIN), an international non-governmental organization based in the Czech Republic, is expanding its work in Southern Ethiopia to provide lasting water, sanitation and hygiene solutions to more than 100,000 Ethiopians in 38 rural communities. Efforts by the government and non-governmental organizations have increased rapidly over the past few months; however, millions of Ethiopians continue to struggle with rising food prices, the loss of livelihoods, the death of animals, chronic malnutrition and a lack of clean water. To help address these fundamental problems, PIN began implementing a comprehensive water, sanitation and hygiene program in Alaba Special Woreda in June. Funded by PIN's Club of Friends, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Humanitarian Response Fund, PIN is providing emergency purification materials, lasting clean water sources and fundamental sanitation and hygiene awareness. PIN is repairing one non-functional distribution system and one non-functional deep borehole, constructing four distribution systems, installing 27 rain water harvesting systems, training 600 community health workers and distributing 15,000 hygiene and purification kits. To combat malnutrition and ensure that children and other vulnerable groups receive the attention they require, all activities are closely linked with schools and health facilities. A member of Alliance2015, a network of six European international non-governmental organizations, PIN has worked in Ethiopia since 2003. Long-term development efforts focus on expanding access to primary education, increasing the quality of primary and secondary education, providing care and support for HIV/AIDS affected orphans and other vulnerable children and wholesale community development. For more information, please visit www.peopleinneed.cz and www.alliance2015.org or contact David Rabinowitz, People in Need, david.rabinowitz@peopleinneed.cz