We support…

Schools
All schools in the area lack resources but demand for education is rising rapidly. English is taught from first grade and is the only language used for teaching in high schools. At several schools in Nekemte and Hareto we have assisted with: - buildings, water supplies and toilets - books and desks sports and science equipment - woodwork tools and tree seedlings We encourage schools in Exeter to get involved, and we bring information back from our visits to share.

Health
A visit to the regional hospital in Nekemte showed the scarcity of basic medicines, instruments, water, sanitation and hygiene. Village clinics show even greater needs. We have assisted with: - instruments and medicines - re-plumbing the hospital - books to the school of nursing - bicycles to rural health clinics The urgent need for local eye care has prompted a major project to develop a new clinic in Nekemte, mainly to treat cataracts and to provide spectacles.

Water & Sanitation
Access to clean water is a fundamental right but many parts of the community have poor quality supplies and no sanitation. The mains water supply to Nekemte is intermittent even though this is not a dry part of Ethiopia. We have provided funds for: - wells and hand pumps - toilets at schools - water storage tanks - mains connections Natural springs around Nekemte provide many people with free but dirty water. We are supporting a simple construction programme to protect these springs from contamination.

Women
The roles of most men and women in Ethiopia remain very traditional, and severely limit many women’s aspirations of education and self-help. For example, poorer women often carry huge bundles of firewood daily to sell to make a living or to pay for a child to go to school. To demonstrate a way to relieve this burden we have provided donkeys for women to carry wood. We are now developing other income generating schemes for rural women and sponsoring selected young women into higher education.