ETHIOPIAN YMCA STREET
CHILDREN'S FUND
We
build strong kids, strong
families, strong communities
 |
YMCA Addis Ababa |
* WHAT IS THE ETHIOPIAN YMCA CHILDREN'S FUND?
* UPDATED LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
* NOTES FROM THE ETHIOPIAN YMCA PRESIDENT
* NOTES FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ETHIOPIAN YMCA CHILDREN'S
FUND
* ADDITIONAL NOTES
* VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
* WHAT'S NEW?
WHAT IS THE ETHIOPIAN YMCA CHILDREN'S FUND?
The Ethiopian YMCA
Children's Fund is an
independent fund-raiser dedicated in raising funds to house,
clothe, feed and educate
close to 24,000 street children in Ethiopia. The YMCA, a non-
profit organization, took on
this effort in 1995 to benefit the disadvantaged orphaned
children in the streets of Addis
Ababa who call the YMCA home. Some of the current programs being
undertaken by the
Ethiopian YMCA are:
 | Street
children education and feeding |
| Teaching
AIDS awareness to the children |
| Working
with the ethnically displaced |
| Sanitation campaign in different
communities |
| Purchase
of desks, chairs and other teaching materials |
| Theater
and music education (this project is so successful that the kids
have
formed a musical group and perform for money to sustain the
group members) |
Click Here for Photographs:[PICTURES
OF YMCA COMPOUND &
KIDS IN LARGE GROUP]
UPDATED LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
The following is an updated list of
contributors who made pledges
in 1996-1997:
Sara Amesalu, Yohannes Ketsela, Elias Kifle, Tilahun Yilma,
Mekonnen Gessesse, Anonymous1,
Hailu Indashaw, Daniel Kifle, Abiy Tekle, Fiqroo Helebo, Berhan
Dejene, Tadele Seyoum,
Tegegne Wondafrash, Elias Wondimu, Abeba Taye, Michael Makonnen,
Adugna Kebede, Kidane
Mariam Woldu, Endashash Tadesse, Michelle Lucas, Cheru Terefe,
Sophia Bekele, Elizabeth
Zeleke, Elizabeth Kifle, Petros Toggia, Rahel Woubishet, Ermias
F.Y., Fisseha Mekuria,
Teferra Demissie, Alem Bantayehu, Addis Ababa Busn Ctr, Abbay
Restaurant, East African
Press, California Mart, Elias Zewdie, Lion of Judah Travel, Judy
Hager, Mesfin Genanaw,
Dejene Habtemariam, Kim Highland, Achamyeleh Gebremariam, Bobby
Amosun, Daniel Tekle,
Rahel Gebreselassie, Mickey I., Dr. Abebe Kebede, Daniel Workie,
Yodit Zeleke, Abera
Shiferaw, Abass Alamnehe, Yared Esatu, Tsegenet Esatu, Mr.&
Mrs Solomon, Daniel Abebe,
Dula Abdu, Haeran Fisseha, Abebe Gelagay, Ms. Fisseka Mekuria,
Getachew Felleke, Gebeyehu
Adugna, Wondimu Mekonnen, Miteku Sibhat, Sirak Abere, Abebe
Wondafrash, Meron Agonafer,
Mengistu Abate, Gideon Samuel, Surafel Hiruy, Tsehai Berhane-
Selassie, Mimi Bantayehu,
Yemeseratch Kidane, T.W. Giorgis, Maaza Christos Mekuria, Sewite
Negash, Samuel Mersha
Admasu, Atikem Hailemariam, Tadesse Eshetu,Osman Hassen, Nebiyou
Girma, Fesseha Atlaw,
Tegegne Tefera, Gebretsadic Shiferaw, Yacob Sulmo, Daniel A.
Ayele, Samuel Kinde, Negusse
Haile, Alemyehu Bekele, Anonymous2, Samson Wondafrash, Mustefa
Tenker, Dawit Alemayehu,
Menassie Taddese, Tilahun Temesgen, Andrew A. Muzain, Adinew
Zeleke, Abraham Lakew
Boldface type denotes contributions made of $100 or
more.
Please continue to support the street children of Addis Ababa by
making a pledge to the
Ethiopian YMCA Children's Fund and by sending your contribution
to:
YMCA of Greater Louisville Ethiopian Children's Fund 501 S.
Second St. Louisville, KY
40202
Make checks payable to "Ethiopian Children's Fund".
NOTES FROM THE ETHIOPIAN YMCA PRESIDENT
I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation for all who
have made a contribution
toward our street children's project. We thank you for sharing
our problems and making our
project a reality. Ethiopia which once has been referred to as a
land of the "Most
Just Men" has lost the values of collecting its children
which are scattered in the
streets of Addis Ababa and some other major cities. This is due
to many of the following
reasons: change of governments, ethnic problems, broken
families, unemployment,
displacement, poverty and rural-urban drift in search of better
living conditions.
The Ethiopian YMCA Children's Fund needs assistance in
feeding, clothing, educating,
and entertaining these street children. Our programs teach them
skills in masonry,
literacy, community health and hygiene as well as library and
computer training. In the
long run, we hope to provide the children with skills that can
make them self-sufficient.
We also try to obtain these children foster parents that can
care for them. With your
assistance, all these projects can become a reality.
Shifarraw Bizuneh
President, Ethiopian YMCA
NOTES FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ETHIOPIAN YMCA CHILDREN'S
FUND
Thank you for making a difference in the life of an innocent
child. Thanks for donating to
the Ethiopian YMCA Street Children's Fund. For the 1996-97
giving year the Ethiopian YMCA
Children's Fund received $3233.00 in pledges of which $2398.00
was received. The funds
were sent personally by a volunteer to the Secretary General of
the Ethiopian YMCA in
Addis Ababa, Mr. Berhanou Duguma. These funds will be used
primarily for the various
programs that benefit the street children of Addis Ababa.
On behalf of the Ethiopian YMCA and the International Committee
of the Metro YMCA of
Louisville, I would like to extend a big thank you to all those
who have supported the
cause in its first phase. We encourage you to continue to
support these disadvantaged
children in Ethiopia by making a pledge for the second phase of
the 1997-98 giving year.
OUR FUTURE WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE WAY WE TREAT OUR CHILDREN,
THE FUTURE GENERATION.
Hope you will all participate in our future fundraising
efforts.
John Knight-Doe
Chair, Eth. YMCA Children's Fund
ADDITIONAL NOTES
Thanks to the Ethiopian YMCA Children's Fund, thousands of
children have been able to eat
three meals a day, have been given access to school supplies and
are engaged in what is
the most successful social and moral booster of all: theater and
music education. Theatre
serves as an important means for the street children to
collectively perform skits
providing them with freedom of expression and self-worth.
In the near future, the Ethiopian YMCA Children's Fund is
looking to build a dormitory
for the orphaned children 'to come home to'. Future
contributions will be benefiting this
long-term effort.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
The following volunteers have assisted in all aspects of the
Ethiopian YMCA Children's
Fund:
" A big thank you to John Knight-Doe of Louisville, KY
for spearheading this
effort ".
" Thanks also are due to Elias Kifle (Atlanta), Samson
Wondafrash (NC), Alem
Bantayehu (DC), Elias Zewdie (Atlanta), Sara Amesalu (PA)
".
" A special thank you to Samuel Kinde (CA) for assisting in
creating this web page
".
If you wish to volunteer in further making this fundraiser a
success, please contact us
with your ideas.
WHAT'S NEW?
Chachi, the new wave Ethiopian entertainer, and
the Gizzae Reggae
Band will be performing in several major cities around
the United States as a
means to raise funds for the Ethiopian YMCA Street Children.
Their first appearance will
be on Friday, July 4, 1997 during the annual Ethiopian soccer
tournament in Los Angeles,
CA.
A YMCA Ethiopian Street Children's booth will be set up at the
LA Soccer Tournament July
2-July 5, 1997 to expose our cause to the Ethiopian community at
large. Please come by and
visit us. Volunteers are needed to work the booth on several
different shifts. If
interested, please contact Alem Bantayehu via email at alem_bantayehu@hotmail.c
om.
A meeting of YMCA veteran members was held on July 4, 1997 in
Los Angeles. Jarso Desta
initiated the meeting in order
1. To solicit more members within our respective states, cities
and/or counties;
2. To do everything possible within our reach to enhance the
operation of the YMCA in
Ethiopia;
3. To meet at least once a year in conjunction with the soccer
tournament; and
4. To establish an internet site in order to facilitate our
communication.
An ad hoc committee was appointed (Desta Girma, Jarso Desta,
Solomon Wodajo and Mengesha
Beyene) to address the aforementioned highlights.
AN OPEN LETTER
Dear former Ethiopian YMCA members:
I am filled with great joy and happiness when I write this thank
you letter to all of you
that were present at the first meeting of the "FORMER
ETHIOPIAN YMCA MEMBERS"
held at the Gahar High School in Cerritos, CA on July 4, 1997 at
4:00pm.
All who were present at the meeting, on that day, had the
opportunity to share a few words
about the role that the YMCA had played in their life. In short,
what was said was
expressed with great emotion, love and gratitude for the unique
programs that the YMCA had
offered:
| Programs that
were rendered practically for free to its members. As a result,
making the
doors open for all - mostly for the have-nots. |
| Programs that
laid strong foundations in the development of the physical,
spiritual,
mental and social aspects of the individual member. |
| Programs that
ignited, in its members' life, the desire for forging to higher
and better
goals into the future. |
| Programs that put
its members in a unique family - the family of the YMCA members
that
shared unique identity and bonding. |
| Programs that
created awareness for the needs of the community and the roles
that one
can play to make them better. |
| Programs that
prepared potential leaders through the different leadership
training and
club activities. |
These are some of the benefits we mentioned regarding the
YMCA and what it meant to us
when we were members then. What does the YMCA mean to those
members in Ethiopia now?
Getachew Eshetu, a youth representative that came to the United
States to attend a Youth
Conference from Ethiopia, gave us a brief picture of what the
YMCA in Ethiopia looks like
with the following brief statement:
"Even though the present government has approved the return
of the Arat Kilo YMCA
building for use by the YMCA; that has not materialized to date
and it does not look like
it will materialize in the near future. As a result, the
Ethiopian YMCA at present is
operating from a small shack located in Addis Ketema. The YMCA,
presently is an
institution with a lot of program proposals on hand, but without
resources to implement
them."
We all felt sad about the situation that the YMCA of Ethiopia
and its staff are faced
with. If we, however, pause and think about what can be done,
that is where we the FORMER
ETHIOPIAN YMCA MEMBERS (FEYM), that live in the USA, come in. I
FEEL WE ARE THE SOLUTION.
We are the solution because we owe the YMCA. We are the
solution, because we have the
resource to ignite the torch that is now very dim at the YMCA of
Ethiopia and we can make
it burn bright like it did when we were members. So, what we
need is to unite and put our
minds together. And when we do that, reaching for the stars will
be easy. At this point,
to reinforce my point, I would like to quote the Amharic saying:
"Fifty lemons are heavy and burdensome for one person to
carry, but very light and a
source of beauty when fifty people share and carry a lemon
each."
This is the type of sharing we all are looking forward to. A
sharing that will be a source
of beauty and pride to all of us. And that source of beauty and
pride for the FORMER
ETHIOPIAN YMCA MEMBERS, I am sure, is seeing the Ethiopian YMCA,
which is our root,
standing on its own two feet. What do you think?
| Do you want to be
one of the torch bearers in this NOBLE DREAM? |
| Do you want to
help your Ethiopian brothers and sisters as others have helped
you? |
| Do you want to
unite, join hands and forge into the future? |
| Do you want to
meet once a year like the annual soccer tournament does? |
| Do you want to
participate in any kind of tournament? If so, in what? |
| Do you have any
other suggestions about what can bring FEYM closer together? |
The feedback I receive from you for the above questions and
others that you may have will
determine the blueprint of our future correspondence.
Please get in touch with former members of the Ethiopian YMCA
that you know in your area.
Share this letter and what was said at the meeting with them. If
they are interested,
please send me their telephone numbers and addresses and I will
add them to our mailing
list.
I thank you for your participation in the beginning of this
noble dream.
Sincerely,
Jarso Desta
FORMER ETHIOPIAN YMCA MEMBERS
1. Desta Girma (412)227-3815
2. Elias Zewde (404)525-2120
3. Gezabegne Assegid (212)264-2539
4. Solomon Wodajo (805)266-8817
5. Mengesha Beyene (703)256-5406
6. Abraham Abebe (301)589-8859
7. Yeshitla Araya (410)655-6058
8. Abbiy Gebrekristos (310)337-9237
9. Mengistu Tadese (214)987-3461
10. Fikre Tafesse (213)735-5638
11. Solomon G.S. (213)740-4759
12. Jarso Desta (714)447-4302
13. Tefera Yigezu (310)458-3521
14. Getachew Eshetu (Addis Ababa)
