Category Archives: Ethiopia

Stories from the Field: Learning Our Way Out

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The Learning Our Way Out (LOWO) program addresses the link between population and environmental degradation, poverty, and other related problems .  Through the LOWO program, communities use informal discussions to explore the root causes of poverty and begin to come to their own conclusions about how family size can directly affect their own quality of life. This is the personal story of a participant in the program.

My named is Tseganesh Tulicha and I come from a remote, rural area in the Southern Region of Ethiopia. I worked for my people as a community conversation facilitator on family planning with IIRR and the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia.  At first, my people didn’t like the idea of discussing family planning issues because they believed that children are like money kept in the bank – the more children you have, the more you benefit from them. Others even quoted the Bible as saying “Children are gifts from God, multiply and fill the earth.”

After IIRR gave us training on community conversation techniques and we began to educate our community using the techniques we learned, things began to change… a lot.

Towards the end of the project, IIRR gave all community facilitators 500 Birr (about $50). We didn’t spend the money, rather, we organized ourselves into a small saving and credit cooperative, opened bank accounts, and deposited the money. Members  borrowed money from the cooperative and started small businesses.  We now have more than 100 members in our community cooperative and more than half of them are women.

I come from a society that considers women commodities, created mainly to give birth. Women are mistreated by our society and for a long time I hated myself for being created female – so much so that I wished I were my father’s male horse instead.

Before the LOWO program, I was forced to stop going to school at grade 5 because I was abducted by a man who later became my husband and the father to my 5 children. I managed to resume my education and complete grade 12 after my participation in the LOWO project.

The LOWO project has changed my life and my way of thinking. Now, I am proud to be a woman and I am proud to see women enjoying equal rights with their male counterparts. I am also happy to be able to change the attitude of my community towards family planning and to be setting a good example.

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A note from IIRR – We are so happy to hear from women like Tseganesh, who are able to change their lives and those of their friends and neighbors through the innovative LOWO program. If you are interested in supporting this program and others like it, please donate to IIRR online (http://www.iirr.org/).

A Pastoralist Community’s Water Solution

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It’s no secret that water is a game-changer.

Not having water can cause health problems and agricultural disaster-causing areas to have either too much or too little water.  A lack of access to water is a particularly limiting factor for the raising of livestock in Pastoralist communities. Storing water to use for their livestock or for their families is not easy, and the water that is found in these areas is often either unsafe, only seasonally available, or located far away.

Mr. Guyo Tache and his ground water cistern

When severe droughts began to occur on a yearly basis (instead of every 3-5 years as in the past) in Ethiopia, one Pastoralist decided that he needed a sustainable solution that his family could depend on.

Mr. Guyo Tache Bobo, a member of Arbale Kebele, took matters into his own hands and built an underground water catchment. He worked with other Pastoralists on the project, but it was Mr. Guyo who sold some of his family’s livestock to get initial funding for the project. Other Pastoralists who couldn’t contribute financially, helped with labor and collecting the supplies needed.

The ground water cistern built by Mr. Guya Tache

Mr. Guyo credited the community discussion sessions facilitated by IIRR with helping him gain the support he needed from his fellow community members to start the project. The IIRR sessions helped him realize that he has the ideas, skills, and community support to help his family without external aid. He saw that his family and his community was in desperate need and he had an idea to help them.

IIRR is proud to of local visionaries like Mr. Guyo, and we hope he will serve as an inspiration for other communities to take similar action.

Innovative Family Planning

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With a soaring population of more than 84 million people, Ethiopia is one of the most populous countries in Africa.  In the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and  People’s Region in South-East Ethiopia, more than half of the population lives below the poverty line.  56 percent of the people are unable to meet minimum livelihood requirements and more than half of the 130 districts in the region are food insecure.

Amidst these challenges, IIRR developed the Learning Our Way Out (LOWO) program in an effort to address the link between population and environmental degradation, poverty, and other related problems .  Through the LOWO program, communities use informal discussions to explore the root causes of poverty and begin to come to their own conclusions about how family size can directly affect their own quality of life.

The LOWO approach uses inclusive interaction, allowing social learning to occur and power relations to shift. Both men and women are involved in the process, and the LOWO program promotes critical thinking to generate a self-willed demand for family planning services as essential components of economic well-being.

The main goal for the LOWO project is to promote the links between economic, social, and environmental well-being and population, and to develop sustainable commitments individually and community-wide to take action to address the root causes of poverty.

Building on the successes and sustainability that has been shown since the initial introduction of the approach nearly a decade ago, IIRR has recently decided to integrate this innovative approach into all of our programs. Stay tuned for more details!

Using Mobile Phones for Farming!

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A recent agricultural conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia led by the International Food Policy Research Institute, the African Union Commission, the UN, and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa drew many committed policy makers, academics, and farmers/trade groups together to focus on the future of farming and food security. (via Voice of America)

One technology that has been gaining traction has been the linking of farmers to up-to-date market information. It is estimated that 70% of the population makes a living through agriculture and likewise, 70% of the population has mobile phone access/ownership across Africa. Using mobile phones to connect and educate farmers has been around for nearly 10 years but has now reached a level of sustainability and growth that it is being taken seriously by the private sector.

Examples abound:

In Ethiopia, the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) provides real-time (within 2 minutes) data on sale prices to electronic signboards in local centers, by SMS to mobile phones, on a call-in voicemail system, through newspapers, tv, and radio, and online. The farmers have been making use of this information. More than 1 million calls were made to the automated phone system last year to obtain pricing updates. It is estimated that the share of the export price that now goes back to the farmer has increased by at least 38%. Visit the exchange to see for yourself!

Recently, another mobile-phone market data initiative was announced in Ghana called “Farmer First” that is a partnership between mobile operators MTN and market data provider Esoko. In the pilots for the project, farmers reported a 40% increase in revenue due to better information allowing them to demand better prices, mvoe to a better market, or sell at the high points. Esoko has similar projects in 9 other African countries including Malawi.

M-Farm in Kenya, links farmers into a mobile network that allows them to combine their products and supply larger orders or to buy fertilizers/seeds/feed in bulk by combining their orders and paying jointly.

Cocoalink in Ghana (a partnership between The Hershey Company, Ghana Cocao Board, and World Cocoa Foundation) has added not only market data but also recently announced plans to partner with Malaria no More to use the mobile farmer network to educate people about malaria prevention and to provide donated phones to women in the 15 Cocoalink villages. The program also provides solar chargers for the phones.

What will be next?

IIRR has been working to include technology and other innovations in its work in rural communities. We are focusing our efforts on:

  • Food Security & Asset Building
  • Education for Marginalized Communities
  • Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation
  • & Applied Learning to teach and build capacity of other development organizations

Can you help support our efforts? DONATE NOW!

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Please visit our website to learn more about how we support rural communities that are working to improve their lives and livelihoods.


Unique Opportunity for Women Agricultural Scientists in Africa

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AWARD Fellowships announces the 2011 Call For Applications (March 25th deadline)

The AWARD fellowship is a two-year program open to women agricultural scientists from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia. There is no age restriction but you must have completed a bachelor’s degree at minimum in one of the approved agricultural majors (see AWARD’s website for details).

 

AWARD is a professional development program that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

AWARD is unique because it:

  • selects women scientists already working closely with the rural poor on tackling poverty and hunger;
  • focuses on career development, adding value to existing academic training programs;
  • nourishes the talent pipeline for agricultural R&D through carefully tailored fellowship packages for women with bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees; and
  • engages with African leaders of agricultural R&D, both men and women, to raise awareness and build networks.

IIRR Trustee to lecture with the Center for African Education Tues 10/19

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Jane Boorstein, long-time IIRR Trustee and Director of the Partnership for Families and Sustainable Communities at Columbia University, will be lecturing about the Learning Our Way Out (LOWO) Program. Her innovative ideas were funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and were implemented in 15 villages in Ethiopia in partnership with IIRR.

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Her lecture will focus on images of daily life in rural Ethiopia, the environmental and social challenges of family planning and population growth, and her own experiences in visiting and working with the men and women in these isolated villages.

RSVP required

When: Tues, Oct 19th 4-5:30pm

Where: Columbia University, Gottesman Libraries, 305 Russell

More information here: LOWO Lecture

 

Two Parrot Productions Blogs about Filming for IIRR!

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Filmmakers Bill and Carly Kizorek of Two Parrot Productions blog about their experience filming a short documentary for IIRR. We are so excited to see the video and pictures they shot of our work with schools for pastoralist youth in Ethiopia. Thank you Bill and Carly!

Charity Navigator Blog

Photo: Two Parrot Productions, www.twoparrot.com

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IIRR schools in Kenya to receive new school books valued at over $8,500.00 US!

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Children enrolled in IIRR’s Pastoralist Education Project schools in Kenya are about to receive new books thanks to a generous donation of 38 cartons of books from the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (JKF).

IIRR believes that education is a basic human right and is critical to a community’s development.  We are leading the way to quality basic education for all through our Pastoralist Education Project serving children and adults in pastoralist areas of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Through this project, we have supported more than 60 communities in building schools, training teachers, designing curriculum and school schedules to fit the pastoralist lifestyle, and along the way have introduced many children and adults to school for the very first time.

While the project has been very successful, we continue to need funds and supplies to expand to new areas and to cover basic needs within the schools. The book donation from the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation includes Math, English, Social Science, and Kiswahili textbooks, workbooks, and some storybooks. We applaud the foundation’s generosity and cannot wait to see the faces of the children when they receive this gift!

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If you are interested in supporting the Pastoralist Education Project, your online donation can be made here-
https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/IIRR_2/OnlineGiving.html

IIRR donations can be made as a gift! We will include an e-card or printed card with a personalized message to your recipient. Past gift ideas have included – a solar light for a classroom, a teacher’s salary for a year, student desks, or a clean water well. Please contact Lara.Crampe@iirr.org if you are interested in this option.

IIRR Facilitates Documentation Training for @RedCross Staff in East Africa

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IIRR facilitated training on documentation during the Netherlands Red Cross planning meeting of the Community Development Approach implementation program for Red Cross societies in East Africa. The meeting was held from 18-19 March in Nairobi to guide and support Regional Red Cross National Societies in implementing the community development approach. IIRR facilitated day two of the workshop where the writeshop process, authorship and copyright issues were discussed. The meeting was attended by staff of Uganda Red Cross Society, Kenya Red Cross Society, Eritrea Red Cross, International Federation of Red Cross and Netherlands Red Cross. 

 

IIRR discussions and information on documentation processes helped to provide guidelines for collecting information during the implementation. Information collected will be compiled and used in a writeshop at the end of the two-year project.

CMDRR Training for Borena Partners and Kenya Steering Groups

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A one-week training for twenty-five partner staff from three partner NGOs and seven government departments from Ethiopia and Moyale was conducted in Marsabit, Kenya from February 8-13, 2010. This training was the second phase of Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction facilitation training after the first was conducted in Yabello, Ethiopia in January 2010. Two participants from Isiolo, Kenya, also attended and shared experiences on the use of songs in local vernacular to sensitize people on disaster risk reduction.

 

Later, between 22 February and 3 March, training was held for the Marsabit and Mandera District Steering Groups. The training brought together sixteen staff from Mandera and twenty others from greater Marsabit district. It was co-funded by IIRR under the regional capacity building project and European Commission Humanitarian Organization (ECHO) through the Cordaid Nairobi office. As part of the training, a two-day field practicum was conducted in Gimbe and Mansille community where the Community Organization Facilitation and Assistance (CIFA), an IIRR partner in Moyale, has field projects. The facilitation was done by Hassan Hulufo and Janet Nyaoro of IIRR with the help of partner staff Mohamuod Duale and Mohamed Dagane from the Rural Agency for Community Development and Assistance (RACIDA) and Umuro Godana from Pastoralist Integrated Support Programme (PISP).