Projects in Ethiopia 2024

In spite of what seems impossible, DevXchange has partnered with project leaders in the northwest and northeast that have shown unusual God given talent in mobilizing communities. They are motivated by the power of the gospel and a passion for helping others, risking their very lives and health. When you visit and see what is being accomplished and their dedication and sacrifice, you can’t help but want to do all you can to support the work that God has started.

Since the start of the project in North Shoa the following has been accomplished

• 4.5 million trees have been planted with 1/3 being fruit trees
• 450 model farmers have been trained
• 7 water projects have been completed (2 by Anglican Aid)
• 4 schools have been built with community participation
• 6 school libraries have been furnished
• 6 Districts have participated in protecting mountainsides leading to conservation and restoration. Whole area is turning green from being barren.
• Over 4,000 students from families who have lost 1 or both parents have been provided school supplies
• 300 fields have been plowed of families who lost head of family. This provides them food and livelihood instead of hand outs.
• Probably a dozen Peace and Reconciliation conferences were held- participants sometimes numbering in the thousands.
• A 60 km emergency road was built during the war called “Feru’s road” providing emergency access of supplies and access to areas that were 3 days walk.
• 6 churches have been started where there were no churches previously. All functioning now under local leadership. Because Feru is unable at this time to visit area, he is bringing leaders out for training.
• All salaries for local workers are provided from sale of produce from nursery sites.

Plan for 2025 is train 50 more model farmers. Plant an additional 800,000 trees, plow 500 fields of widows, provide school supplies for 500 orphans or children in poverty and train church leaders and community leaders by inviting out of conflict areas for conferences and seminars.

The aim is to bring hope and encouragement to the communities by addressing the most critical needs in an organized and supportive manner. Feru also has long term objectives of bringing the hope of the gospel to the entire region. The area is strategically located at the junction of 4 major tribes and this project has the potential to reach all 4 tribes and influence much of Ethiopia in Peace and Reconciliation. Feru indicates the relief needs for orphans and those affected by unrest have increased this year so part of our budget will be to help the most vulnerable with basic relief to sustain life.

Life Changing Technologies, working with Camara Education and the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church, has now had computers installed in four high schools in Ethiopia. These computers give students a virtual library of the Ministry of Education’s textbooks, educational videos and reading materials. This information gives students access to literature for research, reading and learning which should help improve literacy skills over time. We are so thankful to our donors for helping us in our quest to place valuable learning tools in schools where there are very limited learning resources. Won’t you join us on our journey?

The attached photos are of the computer lab at Rehoboth High School, in Arbaminch, Ethiopia from construction to completion. The school staff had the classroom built and LCT provided the computers through their generous donors.

The Life Scholarship Fund aims to empower students from impoverished backgrounds in Ethiopia by providing essential support for their education. Initially targeting 30 high schools within the Gojjam Region, the vision is to expand nationwide. Spearheaded by Tessema Bitew and his colleagues, this initiative addresses the financial barriers of Preparatory School (grades 11 and 12) that prevent many talented students from continuing their education. The fund has successfully increased the number of scholarships each year, supporting 200 students in the previous year alone, with many achieving top scores and progressing to university.

Click the arrow or the project name for more information.

Girls Gotta Run

Girls Gotta Run provides girls with a private school education, a hot lunch six days a week, athletic training three times a week, lifeskills training once a week, school supplies, sanitary supplies and their mothers with a Mother’s Savings Group. The Mother’s Group educates, trains and encourages the women to save, invest in small businesses and reinvest in their businesses. The girls have learned from their mothers how to save and help their moms in their businesses when they are not in school. The mothers and daughters both report their relationship has improved because their family’s economic situation is better and the worry about not having enough food is no longer a reality. The girls in Girls Gotta Run have told us, they have learned they can do anything a boy can do and they all have a goal to go on to university.

Prolapsed Uterus Surgeries

A prolapsed uterus is when the uterus slips from its normal position and bulges into or out of the vagina. The condition is both physically and psychologically painful and often results in a withdrawal from social interactions, inability to carry out usual work duties, depression and a sense of hopelessness. At the Soddo Christian Hospital in Soddo, Ethiopia, surgeons perform different procedures to alleviate women from their suffering which allows them to reengage in life, in community, in work and in relationships. After having had surgery, women talk about being made new, that they can dance and run and that they smell better than perfume.

Tesfa’s Shelter

Tesfa’s Shelter is a place of provision, shelter, safety, guidance, teaching, family and love for 54 children while another 40 children live with a family member(s) in the community but due to extreme poverty, require the support of the shelter for food, educational supplies, clothing and medical care. Several mothers of the 40 children are too ill to work and in 2024, Wellness for Women was developed and 6 women in the pilot project were medically and psychologically assessed and treated, provided with training in life, relationship, parenting and business skills and their confidence was built through individual and group support. Each woman chose a small business to start and were provided with the start up equipment and supplies. The team of a doctor, women’s empowerment specialist and psychologist continue to provide support and follow-up with each of the women to help encourage success in their businesses. The children of the six women not only report feeling less worry and stress, physically they look less stressed, smile and laugh more and are more engaged in life.

WRAPS

WRAPS not only provides washable, reusable, affordable pads to girls who would otherwise miss school while they are menstruating, it also delivers sensitive, thorough and adequate education to girls about their bodies, their menstrual cycle, how to protect themselves against sexual violence and how to care for their pads. WRAPS employs women in the WRAPS factory and the WRAPS Cafe. All the women have come from vulnerable situations and now have secure employment in a supportive and encouraging environment.

New Hope’s vision is to help break the cycle of extreme poverty and bring freedom and hope to people (especially women) trapped in incredibly difficult and discouraging circumstances. New Hope forms, trains and funds VSLA groups, (Village Savings and Loan Associations). Our leaders mentor these groups so that they learn to self-administer and take turns taking loans from a grant provided to get them started. This group and grant enables them to start and grow small businesses and also to take loans for emergencies – like the need for medicines.

In 2024, New Hope was able start 32 new VSLA groups – which means about 640 more impoverished women will get a chance to start/grow a small business and begin to change their lives! We are very grateful to everyone who contributed to help make it possible for women in need to find hope and start a new life.

The Newlivelihood project provides vocational training to help young women learn a skill, such as hair-dressing, food preparation and tailoring in order to find employment to be able to provide for themselves and their families. These are often young women at risk of getting involved in the sex trade just because they can’t find any other way to survive.

In 2024, Newlivelihood was able to train 100 young women (and some men) in hairdressing and tailoring, giving them the chance to learn a life-changing, employable skill! In addition, Newlivelihood sponsored 30 orphans.

We are so thankful for all who gave in order to give these young women the opportunity to take this training and change their lives!

With the help of other partners, Project White Harvest has contributed to the sustaining of the Shire Ministry Training College where 50 students from various parts of the Tigray Region are being prepared to be leaders of integrity for their communities. Their anticipated graduation from the two-year diploma program is in August 2025. This project was able to cover student expenses for one module plus contribute toward administrative costs. The non-traditional educational approach being used is Competency-Based Theological Education in which every course has a practicum component and every student is supported by a mentor from their area. In addition to biblical and theological studies, courses relevant to a post-conflict setting are being offered including such study areas as teaching English to children, conservation agriculture, business entrepreneurship, peace and reconciliation, mentorship, and character and values education. This project was renamed The Shalom Movement Project and merged with the Shalom Alamata Project at the end of the year.

The Sagome Learning Center is a not-for-profit private school in Wolkite, Ethiopia, with classes from kindergarten to Grade 8. Sagome Scholarship, a project of DevXchange International, helps the school to provide free tuition for low-income students and girls.

Registration at the school stands at 604 students for the 2024-25 school year and the

scholarship program supports about 100 of those students with full or half scholarships — the equivalent of 73 full scholarships.

Attendance has grown steadily in recent years and that growth has put great pressure on class size and classroom space.

To help solve that’s dilemma, the Sagome Scholarship program launched a campaign in 2023 to help to construct a new two-classroom building. The program has raised the base funding for that project and work was expected to begin last year.

Construction, however, has been delayed by unrest in the area. Those disruptions are expected to settle and the school hopes to begin building the new classrooms this year.

While continuing to raise funds for the 2025-26 school year scholarships, Sagome Scholarship also hopes to help complete the new classroom project. Finishes and furnishings for the two new classrooms will likely be financed by the school’s administration and the school community.

Ongoing conflict in the Alamata area of Tigray Region prevented almost all project activities from being implemented. The Children’s TEFL training in the church ran from late January to June with about 18 children in attendance on Saturday mornings. A trained facilitator, Yohannes, was assisted by Helen. While the local initiative was not adequate, the project also did not anticipate the continuation of ethnically based conflict after the signed peace agreement nor adequately account for the delicate religious tensions. The numbers of children participating were unexpectedly low. The pastor who was the local coordinator moved to another city. The project was officially closed at the end of the year and was merged with the Shalom Movement Project (formerly Project White Harvest), from where future activities in Alamata may be carried out.

The Kale Heywet Church in Ethiopia have successfully rebuilt the Teza Spring Water Point with the partnership of The 180 Church in Laval Quebec. The community gathered together and contributed the labor while the 180 provided the parts and geological oversight. The community is excited to have access to a water point now, and up to 6,000 people’s lives will be impacted. We are grateful for the hard work and vision of the Kale Heywet Church!

In 2024, The Mushroom Project in Sululta, Ethiopia, continued to grow its impact by expanding community-led solutions to hunger, poverty, and land degradation. This year, the “2000 Family Mushroom Farms” campaign reached dozens of women and youth, providing hands-on training in oyster mushroom cultivation using simple, locally available materials. Participants learned how to grow mushrooms for both family nutrition and local market sales, building new income streams while improving food security in the region.

We also hosted training sessions for local officials and community members to share our farming model and promote sustainable practices across Sululta. Alongside this, the project propagated over 100,000 fruit and flowering tree seedlings, which were either sold or distributed to farming families. These trees are helping to restore damaged farmland, improve food security, provide a decent income, and diversify crops in a region facing multiple challenges.

While our Cow Milking & Soil Regeneration Program is still in development, 2024 marked a year of powerful progress in community empowerment and environmental recovery. With your support, we’re proving that small-scale, grassroots agriculture can transform lives — one mushroom and one tree at a time.