education for hope

Dear All,

We want to thank you for giving your support to our non-profit organization, Education for Hope. We are extremely appreciative of your generous contribution and amazed by your enthusiasm, which is making our project a reality. Thank you for believing in us. So far, we have 31 supporters and we have collected €4700. In Ethiopia, the school year runs from September to June. This year, with your help, we are sending 50 children to school; this includes the 14 children who first joined the program when Tina went to Ethiopia
Sponsoring 50 children was our main objective and we are proud to let you know that, thanks to your support, we have achieved our goal. As you know, sending a child to school costs €70 a year, and we have €950 left over. Instead of sponsoring more children, this money will be used as a reserve fund to pay for the education of these 50 children in the years to come.
As we mentioned in the meeting that took place this June in Amsterdam, Giordana is our main contact in Ethiopia. As the project has developed, we have realized that, on her own, Giordana would not be able to ensure that all 50 children attend school and receive the attention they deserve. If, for example, a child falls ill, she has to make sure the child goes to the doctor and that the medical fees are paid.

We have hired another person to work alongside Giordana; her name is Abebech Mano and she is 28 years old single mother. Her daughter, Hilina Yeshiidagna, is three years old, and, has also joined our program. We will be paying Abebech €20 a month and by giving her a job, we are helping someone else in Addis Ababa.
Her salary will mainly be spent on public transport, as Addis Ababa is a metropolis with six million inhabitants, and our children our spread out across the city.

Some of our sponsors have asked us the following questions:

How does Giordana select the children who join the program and how do their families find out about the project?
Some parents heard about the program from the 14 children that Tina sponsored when she launched Education for Hope. Others, instead, found out about it through Abebech and word got around. Giordana then decided to put an application form in her restaurant and to interview the childrens’ parents. She selects the most needy children, and, as you can imagine, this is not an easy task. Our program is gaining in popularity and many families want their children to participate.

Can we know something more about the children we support? Can you tell us about their lives?
This month we will be telling you the story of two children who have joined our program:
Stifanos Wendimagegnew is five years old and has never been to school. His brother, Yeholawok Wendimagegnew, is six and is in first grade. They come from Menz, one of Addis Abeba’s suburbs.
They arrived in Addis Abeba after their father died and their mother began suffering from mental health problems. Since she could no longer take care of them, her sister, Abeba, was forced to take the children in. Abeba works selling clay pots on the street and does not have enough money to send Stifanos and Yeholawok to school. When Giordana heard about her, she offered Stifanos and Yeholawok a place in our program. Abeba, upon being told the news, cried.

To end our first newsletter, we have a message from Giordana for all of you: “I wish I could take credit for what is happening but I thank you all for what you are doing. Thank you ”

We will be sending you another update in December. If, in the meantime, you have any questions, we’d be more than happy to answer them.

Amesegnalhu (Thank you in Amheric)

Giordana, Abebech, Awet and Tina

Opening the Stichting Education for hope

Our trip to Addis Abeba - March 2008