Ethiopia News 16.06.2021

Some time ago I had the opportunity to meet the director of a large international private school who had asked for a meeting. So I sat at his table in the evening and he asked me how he could support our project, they had many large rooms and would like to support projects in their area. Also he would be willing to have his teachers give training or trainings in other schools or kindergartens. I will meet with him again in July to concretize how we could work together.
 
The last days we were in Kaufbeuren and met the director of Humedica. Humedica is a German Christian relief organization that specializes in medical and humanitarian disaster relief and is now working more in Ethiopia, including in Addis. We will see what the future brings.
 
Up to and including June, 45 parents of the project have now received a small loan. Among them are small entrepreneurs such as sellers of vegetables or coffee and tea, sewers of clothes, sellers of own bred chickens and their eggs or bakers of injera. So now the 4 self-help groups are mixed, where all involved in the small business program save together and pay back the money, meet monthly and talk about their small businesses.
 
2 weeks ago we had organized another training where 67 parents were trained in entrepreneurship by Senait himself. This training was a complete success, because the parents got so deeply into conversation through group work, discussions and their own ideas of topics, that some expressed afterwards that they could imagine to work together some time.
 
Brief background: Working together is a very difficult topic with all parents, as they have not learned to trust others. If this trust grows through support groups and joint training days, it would be a huge success. Please join in praying that this trust grows, that they can not only work together, but also have healthy friendships.
 
Then a few days later we had a first aid course at our site. We came up with the idea of doing this when the schools in the area said during our visits that this was one of the biggest needs, that in the schools with several thousand children, no one knew how to give first aid. So we asked around a bit and then through a friend who is a doctor, we found private trainers who came in threes and held the first aid training for a whole day. It was also sponsored by our friend, for which we are very grateful. There were all employees of Begegnung e.V., 4 employees from the Home (House of Mercy Ethiopia) and then 4 teachers each from two public schools. Everyone was excited and grateful and learned a lot. Thank you Jesus for relationships and that we can also be a blessing in this area!