New life, new award, and new businesses in Ethiopia!

It has been a busy time for our Global Family in Ethiopia. We are delighted to report that our Ethopia Global Family Leader, Meaza and her husband John, have welcomed the birth of a son, Elnathan. The name Elnathan is a Hebrew biblical name and means 'gift of God.' We give thanks to God that Meaza gave birth to her beautiful baby son in peace, and Meaza and John give thanks to God for all the answered prayers and all the help that she has had in hospital.

We also congratulate WIN Ethiopia on being awarded a Certificate of Nomination for their outstanding achievements in Social Services for Ethopia, in the category of Best NGO of the year for 2023. The Abyssinia Award seeks to recognise the efforts and hard work of individuals and groups that have made a significant contribution to the improvement of Ethiopia, Africa and the world. Operating independently from the government, religions and private companies, the heart of the Abyssinia Awards is the desire of acknowledging and rewarding exceptional individuals, teams, and organizations actively working to preserve the nation's history and uplift its people. The rigorous assessment process for the award ensures that only the most deserving recipients are recognised, fostering excellence in service in their field.

Meaza and Minte have worked diligently and faithfully in their community to help those in need, and were recommended for the award by members of their community. They thank everyone for the support they have received saying, “This reward makes us stronger and encourages us to do even better. This success would not have been possible without your efforts and help, therefore, this award is the result of all of you and the entire Global and Sponsorship family.”

Currently, in addition to healthcare checks and providing support for women and children, WIN Ethiopia is assisting the families of ten of the children that come to the Right Path centre in Addis Ababa. Meaza and Minte are working with them, providing funds and guidance to help them start their own businesses. This is hugely valuable input for the families as it allows them to build a future for themselves, giving them self-esteem and providing an income. In a time when financial struggles are exacerbated in Ethiopia by rising inflation (around 30 per cent), this has never been more important.

In particular, Meaza and Minte have helped:

• Alem's mother, Aserat Gabesa to start a business in front of their house selling tea, coffee and bread for breakfast. The money that she has earned from this has helped her improve the quality of their lives.
• Bayech Gamo's mother, Tesfanesh Assefa, has started her business in her home baking the traditional Ethiopian flatbread injera. She sells these and traditional Ethiopian drinks at the local market. This enterprise has brought in the money that they need to help sustain them and she is trying to help her family move forward financially.
• Edom Abebaw's mother, Selamawit, started a business preparing and selling food around her village and has now opened a restaurant, bringing in good money for her family.

Minte has been a long-term volunteer social worker, working alongside Meaza to bring change in their community through helping disadvantaged families. Already having earned a degree in public administration and development, he is now studying to attain a degree in business administration. His focus is on gaining further skills to help and advise would-be entrepreneurs in their community, educating them on how to effectively start and run a business. Since Minte does not draw a salary from WIN, and has supported his own education so far, we would like to encourage anyone who wishes to help support him in his efforts to consider sponsoring him through our Strategic Sponsorship programme. If this is something you would like to commit to, then please visit out Strategic Sponsorship page and choose 'Ethiopia' in the area search box, which will then bring up Minte's sponsorship details.

Alternatively, you can join us in helping WIN Ethiopia maintain their office space by providing essential income to cover their rent. The financial impact of rising inflation has caused increased costs in every area of life in Ethiopia, including the rent of the building from which Meaza and Minte operate offering these vital services to those in most desperate need in their community. If you are able, and would like to help in maintaining this work, then you can do so through our Donation Page where you can make a one-off payment using the "Single Gift" option. If you feel you would like to contribute to WIN Ethiopia on a regular basis, please choose the "Monthly Donation" option. Selecting 'Ethiopia' from the drop down box will direct your money to the Ethiopian Global Family.

If you wish to make a more substantial payment to support the cost of the rent for WIN Ethiopia then please contact the office on 01892 669834. World in Need and the WIN Ethiopia Global Family are so thankful for your support at this time.