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For the past two months Ethiopian Enterprises has been raising funds for hygiene articles and emergency food supplies for our project region of Raya in southern Tigray. But it was only thanks to the tireless efforts of our manager Melkamu Abate and his colleague Solomon Seilu, a lecturer at Mekelle University, that we were able to ensure that the money was spent wisely and that the goods we financed were correctly allocated. Melkamu and Solomon were supported on their many trips between Mekelle and Mehoni by driver Haftom Amare, and helper Lewte Godifay. With the money raised so far we were able to supply 8 health centers and 1 quarantine shelter in our region with hygiene products and examination equipment, and to provide over 1300 high-risk families in the Mehoni area with a month’s food supply.
As you can see in the pictures, the allocation of millet was organised carefully to maintain physical distancing in a region where masks are not available except to health-care workers. Our helpers divided the larger sacks of grain into smaller portions and laid them out in the compound of Lemlem Baro School which was the storage and collection centre for our supplies. Workers were ready to help lift and carry grain for older or weaker recipients back to their homes. Families with 1-2 members (typically older people) received 25 kgs of millet and 1 litre of cooking oil, which will last for a good month. Families with 3 and more members received 50 kgs of millet and 1 litre of oil. Lemlem Baro gardener Wolde, the foreman of our Kindergarten construction team Abrha, Lemlem Baro teachers Fitsum and Haftom, former Lemlem Baro student Abel, and our school guard Afera all helped with the organization of the handouts, masterminded by manager Melkamu. Our thanks go to all of the above and to those of you members and donors who have supported our relief effort. We couldn’t have provided this additional assistance without your help.
We would love to be able to say that now all is good. Unfortunately that is not yet the case. Due to the enforced closure of markets, there are at least another 1’000 families in our region in desperate need of emergency food supplies. So far the area has not received any help from government supported NGOs or national Ethiopian organizations which have the mandate to help in such cases. We are addressing this unacceptable situation and will keep you informed of our progress.
Thomas Baumann has recently completed the Annual Report on Ethiopian Enterprises’ activities in 2019. The richly illustrated report provides a detailed overview of all that EE achieved during the last year in Mehoni. Click HERE for pdf-file (only available in German)
Barbecue with our scholarship students, prize-giving for the best students in the first semester, art exhibition at the opening of our new art&crafts building…
On February 15th, our new Arts&Crafts Center at Lemlem Baro School was opened officially with a student art exhibition under the theme of ‘Beautiful Birds’. Three of us were present in Mehoni for this special event, and we worked hard with the students in the week prior to the exhibition to finish the exhibits on which they had been working for weeks.
The quality of the students’ exhibits was very high, especially given that most of them had never done any artwork of their own until a few months ago. Our resident art teacher has worked hard with the students and we found out that we have many students at the school who are highly talented in this area.
Some of the work was bought by members of the public, and the students were very proud to receive their share of the money paid for their work. Teachers and students from other schools also visited the exhibition over the four days it was open, and the feedback was extremely positive. Many of our students thanked us individually for providing the school with an art room and also asked us to pass on their thanks to the many EE friends who had provided art materials over the past few months.
We are always grateful for biro pens (new), colored pencils (can be used), water paints and other decoration items like gold and silver paint. Have a look at the pictures and see just how well they did, including our three most talented students who were allowed to create bird masks and open the exhibition as ‘beautiful human birds’.
By the way, the ‘luxury birds’ exhibit of four colorful birds was mounted on one of our classroom stools turned upside down. The legs were the perfect size to be inserted into the wrapping-paper rolls used for the body, and the faces were made of egg cartons, cut and covered in plaster tissue and then decorated. We loved them!
This week EE board members Thomas, André and Lesley will leave for Mehoni and the official opening of our Arts&Crafts Center at Lemlem Baro School. The opening will be celebrated with the first student art exhibition to be held at a rural government school in Northern Ethiopia.
February 15th is the official opening of the center and, once the ribbon is cut, the door will open and bird song will pour forth to the visitors outside. Guests will then be shown through the exhibition, which features birds of all kinds. We can’t wait to show you the photos of the students’ lovely work following the exhibition.
This trip’s schedule will also include the yearly dinner for our scholarship student community which now numbers 45 students. In addition, our board will be monitoring the construction of our Early Learning Center which is now underway at Lemlem Baro School.
A short video about the state of the buildings and gardens in September 2019, before the beginning of the new school year…
If you want to see the transformation that 4 people and their friends can bring about in a school project, have a look at this film. It was made for the tenth anniversary of Ethiopian Enterprises. You see the results of the transformation of a large public elementary school, including scenes from 8th-grade holiday courses, work in the permagarden, the opening of toilet blocks with innovative rainwater-systems, school prize-giving, etc. Just as you get that good feeling that now all is well, you get to see footage filmed in a neighbouring school just a few weeks ago….
Last Thursday evening more than 50 members and friends joined us in the Kulturraum Thalwil for a celebration of EE’s tenth birthday. Following the annual general meeting of EE members, our board members and helpers welcomed numerous guests with drinks and fine finger food. Then there was time for chatting, meeting new people and shopping at our Ethio-Shop. After the apéro, EE president Thomas Baumann and Mehoni School project leader Lesley Stephenson delivered a short overview of the origin and past history of Ethiopian Enterprises. EE’s current project at Lemlem Baro School was then introduced in more detail, illustrated by photos and a short film created by board member André Cardinaux. Lesley then took the opportunity to introduce and thank the EE volunteers present at the event, many of whom have supported our work as helpers and fundraisers for several years: Caroline Barlow, Maria Baumann, Alois Baumann, Jonathon Borowski, Cathy Kennard, Hong Peng, Bettina Rinaldi, Jolanta Skuratko, Gabriela Stocker, Christoph Stocker and Julia Svozil. Katarzyna Zarecka and Claudia Babock, who represented General Electric Volunteers at the event, were thanked for their multiple collections of goods for our schools in Mehoni. Lesley also paid tribute to our long-year Ethiopian manager, Melkamu Abate, for his efforts in Raya and Mekelle on behalf of EE. And then the highlight of the evening arrived: our 10th birthday cake, perfectly decorated by Confiserie Bauer in Zurich with the EE logo and Swiss and Ethiopian flags. After many questions and discussions, champagne and birthday cake, the successful party came to an end late in the evening!
Thomas Baumann has recently completed the Annual Report on Ethiopian Enterprises’ activities in 2018. The richly illustrated report provides a detailed overview of all that EE achieved during the last year in Mehoni. Click HERE for pdf-file (only available in German)
Finally. Our new toilet facility at Lemlem Baro School was opened on March 20th. A large crowd of government officials and parents gathered at the school for the opening. Not only were the visitors interested in the squat toilets with which they are already familiar, they were particularly interested in the so-called Calamino Cistern, an innovative rainwater-collection water tank which can be made by the farmers themselves using a special mold. This cistern was created during our time at Hagereselam with Helvetas, and we had always planned to introduce this innovation to Raya when the toilets were built. Rainwater in the cistern will be used for cleaning/’flushing’ toilets and hand washing, and we were very lucky this year: early rain in March filled the cisterns for us so that we could demonstrate the water flow at the opening.
The new facility with 8 cubicles for each boys and girls in two separate buildings represents a huge improvement for the school and its general hygiene level. Our thanks to all who contributed to this project.
