Ethiopia Makes Strides in Adult Education, Health and Food Security in 2014

In 2014, The Hunger Project-Ethiopia made many great accomplishments in the areas of education, health and community mobilization. They expanded their education programs to encompass more than 6,500 adult learners and are planning on expanding their nursery school program in the coming years as well. The Hunger Project-Ethiopia also improved health services at three epicenters, and scaled up Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) at all six epicenters throughout the country.

2014 Accomplishments:

Education
The Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) program continued to empower community members in five epicenters; 76 classes were conducted with more than 6,500 adults enrolled in the year’s first quarter. During the second quarter, 216 adults successfully completed the program at the Mesqan Epicenter and partook in a graduation ceremony in the presence of representatives from the district education office. Graduates demonstrated their achievements by answering questions, reading short stories, operating mobile phones, and performing a drama piece.
Additionally, The Hunger Project-Ethiopia is working to expand nursery school education in rural communities at the request of community members and district representatives.

Health
Several health facilities, including three epicenter clinics and four health posts that were built with the support of The Hunger Project, served the community in 2014. Adults, women and children received a variety of health services such as vaccinations, pre and post-natal services, family planning services, and health education. These services were provided by health extension workers (HEWs) who were assigned by various district governments. In addition, lactating and pregnant women in three epicenters participated in a 1,000 Days child health and nutrition training. The training included theoretical and practical demonstrations regarding the preparation of nutritious foods and sanitary precautions to be taken during food preparation and child care.

Community Mobilization
Saving and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) of The Hunger Project-Ethiopia’s epicenters facilitated savings mobilization, loan disbursement and payment collection in 2014. The Hunger Project-Ethiopia provided technical and financial support through the Microfinance Program in order to enhance the cooperatives in all six epicenters. Two epicenters held review meetings to discuss the cooperatives’ performance and other administrative issues. Abdi Boru SACCO at Debre Libanos Epicenter held a General Assembly meeting during which members discussed the SACCO performance report and the audit findings ascertained in the year’s first quarter. The General Assembly also elected new SACCO committee members.

The Hunger Project-Ethiopia flourished in the area of Food Security through abundant harvests and well-stocked cereal production across all epicenters. Vegetables harvested at Jaldu and Debre Libanos Epicenters were sold, contributing to the epicenters income generation. Mobile phone charging, bread baking, and domestic solar lantern unit sales also continued to stimulate the local economy.

Source: thp.org/news