Location: Lemo District
Project 1: Shurmo Education and Livelihood Development (SELD)
Project 2: Improving Maternal and Infant Outcomes in Remote Lemo Woreda
Partner: Bole Bible Baptist Church (BBBC)
Agriculture is key in Ethiopia, employing around 80% of the population, contributing 47% to the national income and accounting for roughly 90% of exports. According to officials, about 56% of Lemo’s rural areas do not have primary schools within villages. Lemo is one of the most densely populated weredas of the region, with rapidly increasing population.
Project One: Shurmo Education and Livelihood Development (SELD)
Goal of the Project
SELD is funded by ChildLink supporters, SHE supporters and an ANCP (Australian and Nonprofit Cooperating Program) grant through DFAT (Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). This project began in 2012 in partnership with BBBC across three kebeles.
Phase 1 was designed to get vulnerable children to school and healthy, while laying a foundation of good development awareness. The focus will shift to economically empowering households to enable them to be self-sustainable.
Phase II Shurmo Education and Livelihood Development Project will address the issues on food insecurity and income generation.
- Improve the educational status of 1152 (574 being female) children at pre-primary and primary schools in the area;
- Attain at least 80% food security improvement for 820 farming households, to afford at least 2 major meals per day.
Increase income of farming households, widowed mothers and Self-Help Groups.
Progress Update (from July’20 until June’21)
- 956 community members (421 female) participated in an awareness-raising campaign on the importance of quality education for all,
- 2,024 students across 5 primary schools and 798 children in 2 Early Learning Centres were supported in their education,
- One new ECCE Centre (early childhood education) consisting of two classrooms has been constructed at Dubancho Kebele for at least 100 children,
- 60 ECCE teachers and staff (30 female) received refresher training on management and the care and teaching of young children,
- 252 children (113 male and 139 female) received exercise books and pens,
- 125 households were given improved wheat or potato seed and fertilizer provided to improve food security,
- 60 improved sheep to were provided to 30 households (16 male and 14 female),
- 6 new Self-Help Groups (SHG) were formed and trained on basic concepts of the SHG. 90 members (all females) of the 6 groups participated in the provided training.
To help vulnerable children attend school and improve food security for farming households, donate today.
Project Two: Improving Maternal and Infant Outcomes in Remote Lemo Woreda
Goal of the Project
This one-year project is funded by Fullife Foundation and an ANCP (Australian and Nonprofit
Cooperating Program) grant.
The project’s objectives are to:
- Strengthen the delivery of services at Shurmo Health Centre and its affiliated Health Post through staff training and support of essential materials and equipment,
- Work with the Health Extension Workers and communities to encourage more pregnant women and their families to:
- Deliver in a facility staffed by a skilled birth attendant,
- Attend more antenatal and postnatal visits at their Health Post, and
- Improve mother’s nutrition (in the antenatal, perinatal and postnatal period) and that of her infant.
- Construct a waiting room building block for pregnant women to stay for the two weeks preceding their due date.
Progress Update (from July’20 until June’21)
- 12 midwives (5 male and 7 female) participated in refresher training in basic emergency obstetrics and newborn childcare (BEMONC) across 10 days,
- 24 nurses (8 male and 16 female) participated in training organised on Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) for 5 days,
- 37 health extension workers (all female) that came from 14 Health Posts were training on Maternal and Child Health care,
- One waiting room consisting of kitchen, shower and toilet rooms was constructed at Mesbira Health Centre,
- One block latrine of four seats has been constructed at Mesbira Health Centre separately for mothers,
- 14 health posts were provided with medical equipment,
- 30 Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) received training on safe and clean delivery at health institutions by skilled birth attendants,
- Two water tanks, holding capacity of 10,000 litres each, were purchased to improve quantity and quality of water in the 4 kebeles and to reduce the amount of time for girls and mothers spent in collecting water,
- 375 community members (107 male and 268 female) attended community awareness campaigns on safe water management.