The Ethiopian government is appealing to the international community for emergency food aid. The desperate situation has been caused by the prolonged drought in East Africa.
The BBC has reported in detail on the situation, and you can read full details via the BBC website:
Meanwhile, residents of Addis Ababa – including the communities in which the Project works – continue to be affected in the form of spiralling food prices. This particularly affects the many people who are provided with work by the Project for modest wages. Many are at risk of not being able to afford to feed their families.
IHA-UDP has responded on several occasions in the past 18 months by offering one-off consignments of food supplies to families who are particularly affected.
Please consider supporting the Project by donating to this appeal. You can do so here:
A fantastic new book has been launched to celebrate the work of IHA-UDP.
Published to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the start of the Project, the book is based around a superb set of Steve Cahill’s photographs. Many people are familiar with Steve’s black-and-white portraits of community members from the Project, and some of the very best have been included. But the book also includes a large number of new colour pictures which were taken specially. Together, the pictures provide a glimpse of life in the slums, and also give a sense of the hope which has been brought by the Project – the true Spirit of the Poor.
Steve’s fantastic pictures speak for themselves – but some of the people featured also tell their own stories. And Steve was even able to track down a few of the faces whose pictures had been taken in years past – and find out how their lives have changed.
This book will make a beautiful addition to the coffee table of anyone who has supported the Project and taken an interest in its work. And for those who are curious to find out why this project is so special, there could be no better introduction.
The Spirit of the Poor is available in both hardback and paperback and can be ordered online at the Blurb Bookshop, where you can also see a preview of the book.
If you prefer to order a copy by post, send an email to info@papergiraffe.co.uk to ask for details.
A great sense of excitement and accomplishment has accompanied the completion of IHA-UDP’s first condominium building. The new block has been built to house some of the most needy families in the the poor community amongst which the Project is currently working. In line with the city’s new housing policy, the building rises up several stories high – previous homes built by the Project have always been single-story. In fact, IHA-UDP is the only NGO in Addis Ababa which has undertaken to build a new style condominium block – others involved in housing have temporarily withdrawn.
The opening ceremony was held on Saturday, 8th August 2009. The Chief Executive of Kirkos Sub-City (the local district) was the guest of honour. Other guests included government and kebele [local area] representatives, Project staff, and representatives of international donors. The new occupants of the condominiums were also present, along with representatives from the ‘Neighbourhood Group’, and staff from CBISDO and AHISDO – the community-based organisations which now operate in the areas where IHA-UDP has worked in the past. In all, about 150 guests were present.
The building itself includes four stories above the ground floor, and is divided into 40 units – 20 one-bedroom apartments, and 20 studio flats. Construction took 21 months. Although each flat includes a private toilet and kitchen, communal facilities have also been built within the building’s compound. This is because many families will prefer to use traditional cooking methods over an open fire, and will also want space to slaughter sheep and chickens. The cost of water to poor families, and potential problems with water pressure in the city, mean that communal latrines and washing stands have also been included. In all, there are 8 communal latrines, 10 communal kitchens, 2 dry showers, 6 clothes-washing areas, a slaughterhouse and a communal water point.
A variety of factors – including inflation – caused the work to take longer than expected, and also to cost more. The final cost came to Birr 5,539,295.74, and was covered by donors from a variety of countries. (A breakdown of costs is available here, and a list of donors here.)
On behalf of the beneficiaries, the community at large and the Project staff, IHA-UDP would like to extend heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all its supporters, and especially to those who directly contributed for changing the lives of the poorest of the poor community members.
IHA-UDP urgently needs support to continue its vital work – and especially to complete further building projects. If you would like to help, you can donate online or contact the Project directly to discuss current needs.
The date of the annual conference for UK-based Friends of the Project has now been announced. The meeting will take place on Saturday, 10th October, and will run from 10am – 4pm.
As usual, the conference will take place in Cheltenham. But do note a change of venue this year to Holy Apostles Church Hall. For directions and a map, click here.
For more details, read a letter from Keith Holland, the organiser, here. All are welcome.
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.
“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!”
