HTML version by Oleksandr Svirchevskyy

ETHIOPIAN FOOD APPEAL

JO BUTLER / UNCTAD /GVA / UNO

I was living in Ethiopia and desperately wanted to help. So together with a few ECA staff, I decided to form a task force called the Ethiopian Food Appeal, to raise funds in order to deliver food and clean water to children so famished from lack of food they could not longer attend school. The aim of the Food Appeal was to provide assistance over a sustained period of time and to ensure that no funds raised would be used for overhead and administrative costs.

The task force carried out research with WFP, FAO and the Red Cross and finally located the Melka Oba school about three hours’ drive from Addis. We bought emergency food supplies, which included nutritional biscuits, and through the help of the former, Executive Secretary of ECA, K.Y. Amoako, delivered more than four tons of food between 2003 and 2004. As a result, more than 200 children were able to concentrate on their studies knowing that at least one meal a day was guaranteed. Most students attend school till midday only given their family duties as shepherds and farm hands. The task force also worked with the collaboration of the French Lycee (Gebre Mueriam) in Addis and the French Club of International School. Students from both schools helped to raise funds and to accompany the deliveries. The Lycee also contributed books, desks and a radio to the school. I am pleased to report that the new Executive Secretary of ECA, Mr. Abdoulai Janneh, has also pledged his support.

My fund-raising efforts abroad have yielded considerable funds to support our food purchases for the school as well as other charitable activities. For instance, in April I visited Ethiopia and was able to donate funds to the expansion of the only school in Ethiopia for autistic children as well as to Save the Children Norway which supports 3,000 orphans in Addis.

On 3 January 2007, I travelled with ten family members, including my husband and two sons, to the Melka Oba School with exercise books, pens, rulers and Christmas treats for the 150 children now attending the school. Unfortunately attendance has gone down because parents have left the area in search of better farming opportunities. It was an emotional journey for me because during the four years of coordinating the task force and the fund-raising, I had never had the opportunity to visit the school and to see the children first-hand. The children were lined up waiting to greet us with flowers, red cross and welcome banners and lots of applause. I made a short speech asking the children to study hard and to always remember the importance of sharing and giving back to their society. It was translated in Oromiya and Amharic. Many students only speak Oromiya. We also had enough supplies to pay a surprise visit to the Sodore Elementary School. We were able to give to 80 destitute orphans attending the school.

Much more is needed to support the Melka Oba School – for example there is no library and very few books available to teachers and students alike. Teachers work and live in very difficult conditions and the children lack clothing and shoes. There is no electricity or running water and not enough desks.

The Ethiopian Food Appeal also contributed to a wonderful new effort called Artists for Charity, an organization that has created ahome for 16 HIV positive orphans who lost their parents of AIDS. The founders of the charity are young artists who support the
home through the sale of their artwork. They live with the children and have become their surrogate parents. The children (ages 7-14) are disciplined, talented, socially aware and absolutely a joy to be with. I visited their home four times and at their request bought them a VCR player, CD, DVD and a library of Amharic and English books. I also asked each child to provide me with their Christmas wish list. I spent a full day shopping for requests ranging from new bedsheets and pyjamas to backpacks and sketching books. On one of my visits, the children performed their own original songs and dances. On another visit, I brought 12 of my family members with me and it was beautiful to see the children’s eyes light up with the joy of our visit and the opportunity to describe to us their home, their routine, their life with HIV, their hopes, their dreams. We all left exhilarated and full of energy. My wish is that thousands of homes like this could be established in Ethiopia and across Africa.

The Ethiopian Food Appeal also contributed to a unique NGO that supports girls and their mothers. The Atron Community Centre provides breakfast to mothers and their children to ensure that their children attend school. Girls are given school uniforms and academic tutoring. In addition, a vocational training centre offers young girls an opportunity to learn a trade and to find employment in Addis. My thanks go to members of the task force in Addis: Max Donkor, Mak Jarrett, Mai-Ellen Jarret, Zemenay Lakew and Carolyn Knapp.

For more information and donations contact: Jo Elizabeth Butler, tel 022 917 56 90