Two project supporters are getting on their bikes to help raise money for IHA-UDP.
Bev and Hannah Hughes will be cycling along the well known “C2C” (sea to sea) route. They will start on Workington beach in the west and go across to the North Sea at Sunderland in the east, covering around 140 miles in three days. The ride will take them through the northern end of the English ‘Lake District’ to Penrith on day one. Day two is over much tougher terrain up and over the Pennines so they will cycle a few less miles. The final day will be down off the peaks to Sunderland and should be much easier as the last half of the day is fairly flat.
Hannah, who is aged 16, has just finished her GCSEs and is getting sponsorship for IHA-UDP. She hopes to raise several hundred pounds. Bev is slightly over 16.
If you would like to sponsor Bev and Hannah, then you can make a donation by clicking here. Don’t forget to also send them an email to let them know!
Simon Paylor reports on a trip led by CRED in the Autumn
In October 2008 The Cred Foundation took a group of 46 young people and youth workers from the UK to Addis Ababa to provide an activity week for IHA-UDP’s special needs provision (in the CBISDO area [that is, the first Project area]), and for some of the mainstream schools and youth clubs (in the AHISDO area [that is, the second Project area]).
An amazing week was had by all! This was the third trip organised by Cred, and each time the team visits, the aim is not only to give the children a fun time, but also to work developmentally as advised by a UK special needs expert. Indeed, Ethiopian staff also received significant special needs training during the trip, which was enthusiastically received. To top it all off, in addition to various bits of equipment and clothing, the team were able to leave a cheque for £10,000 for IHA-UDP’s work.
As great as this is, the biggest impact of all seems to fall on the young people taking part. Here is an extract from one young person’s journal of the week:
“By going on this trip I have learnt that it’s the simple things in life that matter like family, friends and community and that it’s not all about material possessions. I have seen children that have absolutely nothing but still manage to have a smile on their face and children that get so excited about simple things like bubbles or a parachute. They had never seen things like this before and by being there for that week I may have changed their lives as well as mine. They will never forget me and I will never forget them because I built special relationships with them that are worth more than anything. They are the most kind and caring people in world and are willing to give up everything they have for us…can you imagine someone in England doing that?!
“One memory that I’m going to take away from my experiences in Ethiopia is when one little boy at the youth club offered me his meal when it was the only meal that he got in the day. He was prepared to give that up for me and that really made me think if they’re prepared to give up everything why are people over here so selfish when they have so much more!”
You can see more about this trip by watching the video below:
The main IHA-UDP website, at www.ihaudp.org, is currently unavailable. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, and hope that the website will resume full service soon.
In the meantime,you can visit the website at: www.iha-udp.org
You can also contact website@friendsofihaudp.org.uk if you would like further details about the project’s work, or how to make a donation.
Update: The problem has now been fixed, and the Project’s website can be browsed at the usual address, www.ihaudp.org
An appeal by the Friends of IHAUDP has reached its fundraising target in order to buy an essential piece of medical equipment for the CBISDO community. The item is called an ‘autoclave’, and is used for sterilizing equipment.
Project supporter, Gill Wyatt, visited the project last year and was shocked to discover that the health post in the CBISDO area did not have a functioning autoclave.
Gill Wyatt on her visit to the project area
“When visiting the project in May last year I was amazed at how the doctor manages with so few resources”, says Gill, who is a nurse herself. “He told us that the old autoclave he has (his only means of sterilising instruments) didn’t always work. He couldn’t send it away for repair because then he would not even have an unreliable means of autoclaving.”
Since her trip, Gill has spear-headed a campaign amongst the Friends of the project to raise the funds for a new autoclave. Support has come from a group at the local hospital, who nominated the appeal to receive part of the proceeds from their Christmas ball, and also an event at a nearby school where Steve Cahill, teacher and photographer, displayed some of his acclaimed pictures of the Project’s wowk. The target of £4,000 has now been reached, and the new equipment is now being purchased for the health-post.
“Anyone who has visited the project will be aware that the electricity cuts are very frequent and therefore the doctor needs to be sure that he has a functioning autoclave when the electricity is available”, observes Gill. “With high rates of both Aids and hepatitis (and of course many other diseases) an autoclave provides a secure way of sterilising equipment to prevent cross-infection.”
For a taste of Ethiopian culture, why not view this slideshow from the BBC of Orthodox Christmas celebrations in the remote mountain village of Lalibela:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7860753.stm
Lalibela is home to a collection of 13th century rock churches, and is an active place of pilgrimage to this day.
Earlier this year, IHA-UDP and the Institute for Urban Workers hosted a Regional Workshop for Anglophone African Countries. The conference ran from May 7 – 10, and was organised in collaboration with Mazingira Institute (Kenya) and Habitat International Coalition. The objective was to provide support on development, environmental improvement and housing issues. Around 30 people participated – of which 16 had come from different parts of Africa and the rest represented different indigenous NGOs here in Ethiopia. The UN-Habitat representative from Addis was invited as a guest of honour, and officially opened the seminar.
The participants shared their experiences and achievements on the various issues they are addressing such as habitat and rights, production, environment, HIV/AIDS, gender, governance, mobility finance and services. The workshop was an interesting day and provided a good experience sharing platform.
The event was hosted and facilitated by the Institute for Urban Workers (IUW). It was a good opportunity to promote the IUW, which was selected from amongst other Institutes in East Africa to organize and host the meeting.
The IHA-UDP website is now able to accept online donations.
As with ‘offline’ donations, money is being accepted on the Project’s behalf by long-term UK supporting organisation, Glenfall Fellowship Trust. As a registered UK charity, Glenfall is able to recover Gift Aid on donations made by UK taxpayers, and the Gift Aid declaration can be made during the online donation process.
Donations are being handled through PayPal, who are a leading provider of secure payment technology. This means that donations can be made with complete confidence that your details will be handled safely and securely.
You can make an immediate donation to the Project’s ongoing needs, and also to the Food Price Crisis Appeal. To see more details, or to make a donation, visit the homepage at www.ihaudp.org. In the near future, it will be possible to make a greater range of donations to cover specific needs, and we hope that this will make the website an invaluable tool in raising much-needed funds to enable the Project’s vital work to continue.
Some highlights from the annual UK Supporters’ Meeting
Saturday, 1st November 2008 Cheltenham
About 40 friends of IHA-UDP from all over the UK gathered for the annual meeting. Dr Jember had stayed overnight in Cheltenham so she took everyone by surprise when arriving in good time. Glenfall Fellowship hosted the event. A full breakdown of the day is given below, including a detailed update of CRED’s recent activities in support of the Project.
IHA-UDP’s long-term supporter, the CRED Foundation, has raised over 2,500 pounds towards the current food price crisis. CRED launched the appeal to its own supporters just two months ago, and will now be able to present the money raised when a group of supporters visit the Project this month.
This fantastic sum is in addition to money already raised by a group of the Project’s friends & supporters, and further donations from larger donors. All of this money will make an enormous difference to community members who are working for the Project, but struggling to feed their families as the cost of food in Ethiopia soars.
The appeal is ongoing, and if you would like to support CRED, you can make a donation online at:
The urgent appeal which was launched to combat the food price crisis has now topped over £5,000.00 – and money is still coming in. All of this money has been raised by individual friends and supporters of the Project, and is in addition to some existing funds and recent grants which have also been earmarked for the same cause.
Ben Booth recently visited the Project team in Addis Ababa, and learnt how this money can make a difference. A sum of around £5,000 could provide a single round of aid to struggling families – with the precise make-up of each family’s handout depending on their circumstances.
“The response to this appeal has been so quick and overwhelming,” said Ben. “The Project is enormously grateful to all its friends and supporters who have been so generous in responding to this urgent need.”
Sadly, the crisis shows no sign of ending, and food prices are continuing to rise further – putting essential items out of reach of ordinary people. “Everwhere we went, this was the topic of conversation,” Ben recalls. “Despite all the problems which you can imagine in the Project areas, this was the one thing which was at the front of people’s minds.”
The appeal remains open. For further details, including how to make a response, read the initial article here:
“By going on this trip I have learnt that it’s the simple things in life that matter like family, friends and community and that it’s not all about material possessions. I have seen children that have absolutely nothing but still manage to have a smile on their face and children that get so excited about simple things like bubbles or a parachute. They had never seen things like this before and by being there for that week I may have changed their lives as well as mine. They will never forget me and I will never forget them because I built special relationships with them that are worth more than anything. They are the most kind and caring people in world and are willing to give up everything they have for us…can you imagine someone in England doing that?!
“One memory that I’m going to take away from my experiences in Ethiopia is when one little boy at the youth club offered me his meal when it was the only meal that he got in the day. He was prepared to give that up for me and that really made me think if they’re prepared to give up everything why are people over here so selfish when they have so much more!”
