Tag: IGA

2017: Year in Review

Dear friends, 

The past 12 months have been amazing for Roots Ethiopia. Our team has been hard at work to support local ideas for lasting change. You have made this a year of growth and excellence.  As always, we could not have accomplished our work without your support. We have put together a list of ways YOU have made a difference – add a touch of coffee, some very long days on the road to remote villages, and a dedicated team, and 2017 is a year to remember. We are so grateful for your enduring support!

Happy New Year,
Roots Ethiopia

16
Learning Resource Projects:

3 NEW in 2017

Highlights from our team:
  • Wanja Primary School is a woman-led School in Halaba.
  • 500 textbooks purchased for Ewoqet Chora Primary School’s first EVER library.
  • Over 18,000 students and their families have enriched learning opportunities as part of their continued partnership with Roots Ethiopia.

1 VIP Latrine

(Ventilated Improved Pit)
with Menstrual Changing Room for Adolescent Girls

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170 Students Attending School

with a
Roots Ethiopia School Sponsorship

Highlights from our team:

  • All children received backpacks, uniforms and school supplies, and they LOVED the SpongeBob backpacks this year.
  • We rented a truck and delivered grain to all the families in our program.
  • We listened to a lot of the hopes and dreams the children have for their futures, and we encouraged them to dream BIG!

3 Special Needs Classrooms:

2 NEW in 2017

Highlights from our team:

  • Haile Bubamo Special Education classroom received special education toys for children to learn while playing.
  • 10 children at Wanja Primary School were added to the Special Education roster.
  • A classroom of 18 students in Halaba is now part of our program. There will be a daily snack and transportation to school added as a pilot program here.

60 New Women-Led Businesses

for 3 new Self-Help Entrepreneurs peer savings groups (SHE)

Highlights from our team:
  • Women in our new Usmancho SHE are very motivated to build a strong team for learning and sharing.
  • The growth of SHE in Halaba Kulito  means more women have joined our successful work there and have many successful mentors.

 

1 Office in Addis Ababa
NGO License &  Country Director
*you are welcome to visit us in Hiya Hulet*

3 Teacher Training Programs

Highlights from our team:

  • 2 professional teacher training for science teachers. Over 80 teachers trained in a University setting to help them create a hands-on science curriculum for their students.
  • 1 professional teacher training held in Addis Ababa for 4 special education teachers.
and more ….
Thanks for being part of our journey to support community-identified solutions for education and job creation in Ethiopia. We are ready for 2018!

 

The Roots Ethiopia Team

SHE + School Attendance = Awesome!

Back to school for these two young people!

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Tadelech’s children are headed back to school this week. They attend school regularly because their MOM IS A ROCKSTAR entrepreneur! Tadelech is part of a Roots Ethiopia Self-Help Entrepreneurs (SHE). She sells bananas and eggs in the market – and she even has a secret way of ripening her savory bananas. (You can read all about her on our Instagram account, using the hashtag #Tadu and #LaurensLens)

At Roots Ethiopia, we value family self-reliance. Tadelech is a great example of how a strong business plan and the support of a like-minded group of women means success for everyone in the family.

Do you want to enable the livelihoods of women like Tadelech? Support a woman who is joining SHE for just $27/month!

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7 Incredible Things YOU Did in 2016!

I could not blot out hope, for hope belongs to the future. –Lu Xun

See the dream. Be the impact. Feel the success.

The 2016 sun has set an incredible 366 times, shining a light on all the ways your gifts to Roots Ethiopia have turned dreams and challenges into success.  As we begin what will surely be another year of work to create lasting change in Ethiopia, we thought we would bring you a year in review, by the numbers.

Here are 7 phenomenal ways YOU turned local ideas into lasting change:

  1. 15,000 students and their communities were enriched through Learning Resource Projects that focused on making the school learning environment the best it can be. Desks, chairs microscopes, books, shelves, concrete floors, chalkboards, libraries for public use, the list is long. The impact is broad. The local community is inspired.
  2. More than 8,600 community members received temporary food support during the months following drought-related crop failures. In the darkest of days, these food staples allowed kids to keep going to school and families to stay strong.
  3. 113 librarians and 39 science teachers received intensive training in their field to become better leaders and to improve their innovative use of local materials as teaching tools.
  4. 11 rural schools were recipients of new books in the local language(s). 6,000 students can now expand their literacy skills and love of reading.
  5. 175 students attended school with all-inclusive School Sponsorships.
  6. 40 boys and girls participated in a new sports-based program designed to develop youth leadership skills. The program includes uniforms, sports equipment, and instruction.
  7. Over 300 women and men built their own small businesses that sustain their families. 19 Self-Help Entrepreneurs were in place in 14 project sites for the small business owners to increase their capacity to earn income, increase their self-confidence, and work for social change.

These accomplishments all began as the dreams of small Ethiopian communities. You brought the resources, and you stood strong in the face of the serious challenges that threatened the livelihoods of so many. You gave monthly, or all at once or both. Your hope for better lives for Ethiopia’s poorest families was the thread that linked possibility to progress.

Thank you for an amazing 2016.

In 2017 we will see change, growth, and new opportunities.  In partnership with your commitment, here’s to the hope for a better future for all of Ethiopia.

Warmly,

The Roots Ethiopia Board of Directors

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Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.

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SHE Leads! Almaz makes delicious injera

Meet Almaz, a local businesswoman and leader! She lives in Sodo, Wolayta, Ethiopia. Almaz‘s husband became gravely ill and their family lost their entire livelihood when he died. Like many families in Ethiopia, as a woman headed household she and her family suffered greatly from lack of work and no resources. Roots Ethiopia interviewed Almaz and learned she was well known in her neighborhood for making wonderful injera. Almaz was invited to join our Self-Help Entrepreneurs (SHE).

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(Almaz and her son in front of their home)

Her SHE business start-up grant allowed her to start a small injera selling business right in her neighborhood, in front of her home. Almaz has created big change in her life! People come from all over the neighborhood to buy her fresh injera. She built a small outdoor kitchen outside of her home and she cooks and sells injera every day right off the mitad! Almaz and her 5 children feel confident that they can improve their lives with school, hard work, and savings and planning. 

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(Almaz’s kitchen and her stack of fresh injera – she has hired help to run her busy and thriving injera shop.)

Almaz‘s success is possible because YOU provided start-up resources she needed to unlock her potential and lead the way!

This year’s campaign to fund 30 more women in business is underway. You can be part of our continued work to promote women and small business success. Please consider a gift today.  You can give here.

Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.

 

SHE Leads! Meet Lemelem

Lemelem is a leader! She is part of our Self-Help Enterpreneurs (SHE) in Areka, Wolayta. Before joining the women’s group her family struggled to meet the needs of their 2 children. Their only income was from her husband’s meager income as a petty trader. Lemelem had a strong business idea, but without startup capital, she was not able to realize her goals to be self-reliant.

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In late 2015 Lemelem joined “Reheboth”, a local Roots Ethiopia SHE. She learned valuable business skills, refined her business plan, and began a small savings account. She saved 12 birr every week along with her team of women. Then, she joined a local ‘Equb’ (an informal rotating savings and credit association common in Ethiopia) and saved an additional 50 birr weekly. Crafting a savings plan and then sticking to it was difficult, but SHE social and economic strategies for success helped every woman meet their savings goal.

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(SHE in Areka has over 20 members who meet once a week)

After a few months of establishing solid business knowledge, Lemelem received her start-up capital from Roots Ethiopia and she started selling plastic shoes in Areka and surrounding towns.

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(Lemelem at work, summer 2016)

Lemelem is very successful. She has increased her savings AND provided material comforts for her family.  She bought a bed for her family, is able to make sure her children eat regularly and is tending to her young children’s needs with healthy hygiene and nutrition. She’s looking forward to sending them to school when they are old enough. Lemelem says, “my family is happy, and my marriage is even stronger!” Lemelem hopes she can expand her business and open a shop.

SHE LEADS! We are so honored to share Lemelem’s story! Become a part of a woman’s story and donate to our annual campaign! 

 

Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.

 

A Father’s Story on Father’s Day

In 2015 the life of a father was changed with a Roots Ethiopia small business grant. Ayele, his wife, Genet, and their 6 children want to share their story with you for Father’s Day.

Ayele is a hard worker who, in the midst of his work selling grain in the market, was bedridden with serious illness.  For 2 years he was sick. His family sold all of their worldly goods to provide for his medical expenses. The family lost everything and suffered greatly. Even as they rejoiced as Ayele recovered, they struggled to rebuild their future.

The outlook seemed bleak with no resources for school, rent, or livelihood. In 2015 the Roots Ethiopia community facilitators in Hadero selected Ayele for a small business grant to help him reestablish his grain market business.

Ayele shared:

The Hadero MKC and Roots Ethiopia community encouraged me when I was so ill. And then they helped me recover both in body and in spirit when I received start-up capital to get back to work.”

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Once again Ayele has created a thriving market business. He can feed his family, pay his house rent, and he has saved some capital to grow his business. His entire family is involved in their success, adding sales of plastic bags and coffee to his grains.

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Ayele says, “I am the happiest father in all of Hadero. My dream now is to sell grains in quintal. And I will see my children grow strong in school and in their future.”

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

You can be part of our small business success. Please consider a gift today.

 

 

A Peek Inside our Meeting in Angecha, Ethiopia

As soon as we walked into our meeting with Sentayu and Tamesgen, the Roots Ethiopia Community Facilitators in Angecha, Ethiopia, we could sense the leadership skills and dedication to our program. These two men manage the 10 School Sponsorships and 15 IGA’s that are currently being supported by Roots Ethiopia.

Both men recently traveled to Hosanna for Program Training. Sentayu said;

“I learned many skills. Mostly skills related to learning to create jobs and setting expectations for the IGA recipients. I also learned how to face challenges and manage these businesses properly.”

Sentayu leads the Roots Ethiopia Program in Angecha, Ethiopia

Sentayu spoke at length about the IGA recipients in Angecha. He feels that they are all moving in the right direction and showed us three different bank books that recipients are using to save money. All are making monthly deposits and excited to have learned the skills needed to save money.

One of the bank books being used by an IGA recipient

Tamesgen updated us about the recent IGA training that was given to all of our recipients:

“Most of the people in the Angecha IGA Program had no business knowledge or skills before coming to the training. Now they have learned how to generate income, manage a business, and save money.”

Tamesgen plays a major role in supporting our work

In Angecha, corn, potatoes, and kidney beans have failed. At this point, they are hopeful that barley and teff will be harvested successfully in the area.

Sentayu reported that nutritional support has already been distributed to the families of our school sponsored children. Grains and cooking oil have been given to each family according to family size. He thinks that this will be sufficient to sustain them during the current nutritional crisis.

As of today, all 126 of Roots Ethiopia sponsored students and their families have received grain and cooking oil to support stressed nutritional needs. Our next initiative will involve food relief in a remote, drought-stricken village in Hadiya, Ethiopia. We are dialed in deeply to the nutritional needs of each community. Your support helps Ethiopian families sustain themselves during this critical time.

Finally, we were able to inform Sentayu and Tamesgen about Roots Ethiopia’s plan to fund a Learning Resource Project in Angecha. They were honored to add this Program and are committed to its success. Our Program Director has worked with the local woreda leadership to identify a school in the region. Community and school leaders are working on the proposal and we are eager to share it with you!

As you plan your end of year donations, please support Roots Ethiopia with a monthly recurring donation. Your end of year giving continues to give life to community-led programs in Ethiopia.

A Connected Community Supports Job Creation in Ethiopia

On Saturday evening at The Prairie Cafe in Middleton, Wisconsin over 100 people gathered to support Roots Ethiopia’s commitment to job creation in Ethiopia. Artful Giving included art created by women in support of women. Proceeds from the event benefited SHE which currently provides market jobs to over 200 people in rural Ethiopia! The evening was an enormous success with many pieces of art being sold and proceeds going to our work.

The main words used to describe the evening were connected and empowered. Old and new friends of Roots Ethiopia had a lovely time admiring and purchasing the artwork that linked the attendees to the lives of rural Ethiopian women.

The crowd was treated to luxury chocolate donated by Vosges Chocolates out of Chicago!

A traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony was also part of the evening!

In order to get a true feel for the intimacy and power of the evening, you need to hear from the artists themselves. Read what each of them had to say, and then enjoy some more pictures from the lovely night!

“I am grateful and elated to have the chance to empower women through my art jewelry and S.H.E.. I love the idea of women empowering women!” Chris Callahan, CMC Studio

“To bear witness to life in Ethiopia and be able to express it through my art has been an honor. It is my intention to share parts of what I have witnessed and experienced in Ethiopia and be able to empower women through S.H.E. With every brush stroke, I was connecting to a country I love, the birthplace of my daughter, to our Ethiopian family and to the vulnerabilities that exist in their community with the hope of being apart of a solution to ending poverty. This series of art emerged after traveling to Ethiopia to work with Roots Ethiopia’s school enrichment project. Some pieces speak to a different aspect of life and culture in Ethiopia, while other pieces were an expression of the hope I held onto during our adoption process and the same hope I witnessed while visiting Ethiopia.” Jennifer Rikkers, Jennifer Rikkers Art

“As a photographer, my inspiration happens at the same time the photograph is made. One memory I have is of a woman sharing that she was unwelcome in her community when she was homeless and without a job. Now that she has her own shop selling things, she is welcomed and included once again. When I took her picture, she was serving us injera with such beaming pride, it was a moment that made me realize that it was her own work that saved her life.” Lauren Werner, Lauren Werner Photography

$27/month sponsors one small business for an Ethiopian woman. These grants are intended to alleviate poverty by empowering families to develop the means to generate sustainable income, year after year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artful Giving Aims to End Poverty in Ethiopia

It has been BUSY at Roots Ethiopia. Our team has been planning #ArtfulGiving and we almost forgot to update all of you! It is tomorrow night!! Over 200 people are expected to attend.

Come for the Art, Stay For The Conversation!!

The benefit, held September 19, 7-10p.m. at Prairie Café and Bakery in Middleton, Wisconsin will include neighborhood friends, supporters of our vibrant non-profit, and those who appreciate art for a cause in a beautiful location. We expect over 200 attendees from around the state who have a heart for art, Ethiopia, and all the potential of women worldwide. Jennifer Rikkers Art, Lauren Werner Photography, and Chris Callahan, jewelry artisan from CMC Studio, are our generous artist hosts.

The evening benefit will include art created by women in support of women. Artful Giving expresses what compels us all to create a better future for women as they strive to support their families with meaningful and sustainable work. This event reaches across boundaries and borders to support global needs.

Proceeds from this event will be directed to our Self-Help Entrepreneurs (S.H.E.) which is creating 30 small businesses in 30 days for women in rural Ethiopia.

Here are some pics of what this event is going to look like! Who is excited??? #ArtfulGiving!!

We will be sharing more images from this event over the next few days! Please contact us if you are interested in hosting a similar event in your hometown at info@rootsethiopia.org.

Sponsor a small businesses in Ethiopia during our 30 businesses in 30 days campaign this year! $325 or $27/month sponsors one coffee shop, market stand, small store, or a bread and tea stand in rural Ethiopia!

Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.

Join Roots Ethiopia to Create 30 Businesses in 30 Days!

Each year we run a campaign that adds 30 new small businesses to our Self-Help Entrepreneurs (SHE) network in rural Ethiopia. Over the next 4 weeks, we plan to add 30 new businesses in 30 days. We believe that putting these businesses into action will enable 30 Ethiopian families to end their own poverty. Roots Ethiopia has 211 existing small businesses in rural Ethiopia. It is remarkable!

Zinash
Support a Business Now!

This year, we are excited for you to meet Zinash. Zinash is a true success story. With the help of Roots Ethiopia, she was able to set up a small roadside shop selling injera. Her business became so successful that she has now added small household items to her shop! She was so proud to show us her business when we visited her last December. Her exhausting days of earning only $1/day fixing roads are a thing of the past.

Zinash told us, “Now I am part of community life again. My children’s minds are free and they go to school without worry.”

Be the first to sponsor a small business in Ethiopia during our 30 businesses in 30 days campaign this year! $325 or $27/month sponsors one coffee shop, market stand, small store, or a bread and tea stand in rural Ethiopia!

Roots Ethiopia is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization working in Africa, specifically helping Southern Ethiopia. Roots Ethiopia supports community identified solutions for job creation and education.