Ethiopia's Daughters is a project that my wife and I are involved with. We are helping to raise money and complete projects for a school in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We don't just love African Tortoises, we love the kids as well!
A close friend of mine has been traveling to Ethiopia for years. He is an avid bird watcher and has been on many bird watching adventures in Africa. His birdwatching trips took him to the Nechisar preserve. When he was in Ethiopia a few years ago, he hired a guide and translator named Solomon. They formed a solid friendship and began exchanging letters over a period of years. My friend, Gerry, has now devoted his time to helping to develop and improve the quality of the school in Addis Ababa that Solomon's daughters attend.
I got involved shortly after they began. I have been focusing on fundraising here in the US in the Northeast. We are a small, private operation. We are not a NGO, or not-for-profit. Once the government of Ethiopia sniffs a not-for-profit, they immediately begin skimming quite a bit off the top. We are committed to having 100% of the money that people donate go DIRECTLY to the kids of the school. We pay all of our own marketing, travel and promotion costs. Donations all go directly to the school.
We focus on small, manageable projects. We started a girls soccer program. We refinished their "toilet block" so that it actually drains. Before Ethiopia's Daughters got involved, the kids had to stand in ankle high waste to use the bathroom. (Strange that they call it a toilet block because there aren't actually any toilets.) We built a teacher's room so that the hard working, underpaid staff could actually have a room to eat their lunch and store their personal belongings.
Our upcoming projects include building and installing a series of hand washing basins around the school property. They currently have none. We will instruct the staff who will, in turn, educate the children about proper hand washing. We are also planning to finish a library that was started by Save the Children and never completed. We have many other projects as well.
Overall it is a small, but rewarding project to be involved with.
More info at Ethiopia's Daughters (or .com)
The website is still under construction. Our next trip (I will be staying in the US) is scheduled for April, so we are hoping to have the site completed rather quickly.
A close friend of mine has been traveling to Ethiopia for years. He is an avid bird watcher and has been on many bird watching adventures in Africa. His birdwatching trips took him to the Nechisar preserve. When he was in Ethiopia a few years ago, he hired a guide and translator named Solomon. They formed a solid friendship and began exchanging letters over a period of years. My friend, Gerry, has now devoted his time to helping to develop and improve the quality of the school in Addis Ababa that Solomon's daughters attend.
I got involved shortly after they began. I have been focusing on fundraising here in the US in the Northeast. We are a small, private operation. We are not a NGO, or not-for-profit. Once the government of Ethiopia sniffs a not-for-profit, they immediately begin skimming quite a bit off the top. We are committed to having 100% of the money that people donate go DIRECTLY to the kids of the school. We pay all of our own marketing, travel and promotion costs. Donations all go directly to the school.
We focus on small, manageable projects. We started a girls soccer program. We refinished their "toilet block" so that it actually drains. Before Ethiopia's Daughters got involved, the kids had to stand in ankle high waste to use the bathroom. (Strange that they call it a toilet block because there aren't actually any toilets.) We built a teacher's room so that the hard working, underpaid staff could actually have a room to eat their lunch and store their personal belongings.
Our upcoming projects include building and installing a series of hand washing basins around the school property. They currently have none. We will instruct the staff who will, in turn, educate the children about proper hand washing. We are also planning to finish a library that was started by Save the Children and never completed. We have many other projects as well.
Overall it is a small, but rewarding project to be involved with.
More info at Ethiopia's Daughters (or .com)
The website is still under construction. Our next trip (I will be staying in the US) is scheduled for April, so we are hoping to have the site completed rather quickly.
