July Newsletter

News from Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, as in the UK, Covid-19 remains a major problem. Considerable efforts are being made by the government – encouraging social distancing, closing schools and setting up food-banks. They are testing for the virus, but capacity is limited. Unfortunately it already shows evidence of community spread.

Most of our major projects for 2020 are on hold or postponed to 2021, although planned work making toilet blocks and playgrounds safe, continues.

A large proportion of our health budget has been diverted to the purchase of PPE.

We have also supported the local authority preparedness through purchasing 7,100 Kg of wheat so isolation is possible for families affected by Covid-19.

Due to schools closure, all of our scholarship girls are back in their villages. Whilst the government is supporting education for secondary schools through television, our girls have no access to these resources. This will set them back in their learning.

As many of them have neither phones nor access to electricity to charge them, this makes maintaining contact with them very difficult. As an emergency measure, we are buying phones for them with solar chargers. The benefit of this is two-fold. First, allowing the girls to stay in touch with their mentors for support and guidance, and secondly, they will be able to access the electronic learning resources whilst their school is closed.

Meanwhile, the summer rains are here and the garden at Toby House is flourishing…

News in UK

URGENT! SUPPORT US PLEASE and have fun….

For Ethiopia remains active. Following our conference last Autumn, the Small but Significant group, a collective of small UK charities working in Ethiopia, has continued to meet online to share our experiences and support each other. As a fundraiser, we have organised this amazing quiz.