november 30, 2000

Visit in Ethiopia

In November 2000, Sybille Eisele and Britta Uhl had the opportunity to become acquainted with the work of the relief organisation for two weeks, and to convince themselves of the utilisation of donation funds.

MfM is active in three project regions:
In Merhabete, a high mountain plateau in central Ethiopia only accessible with great difficulty; in the Erer Valley in the East, where drought and extreme temperatures make agricultural development problematic; and in the Illubabor region in the West, a tropical rainforest in which any infrastructure whatsoever (roads, schools, medical care) is extremely insufficient at best.
Despite their poverty, the people there are very open-minded and hospitable, and immediately accept foreigners in the family circle.
MfM is especially active in Ethiopia in the following sectors: The struggle against soil erosion; the agro-ecological training of farmers; the cultivation of more high-yielding seedlings; the construction of schools as well as appurtenant dormitories, hospitals and mobile clinics; and the improvement of the quality of life for the rural population. This improvement consists of minimal, small steps, for instance in the utilisation of stones as construction material for the huts instead of poorly weather-resistant wood. Women there are also shown how they can enrich the daily menu through the cultivation of vegetables, and use simple clay ovens instead of an open hearth in the hut in order to prevent the menacing malnutrition or diseased caused by the acrid smoke. There's also the possibility to set up an additional minor source of income with personal loans (e.g. a few kilos of grain, 2 goats or amounts of DM 100).

Of course, a distribution of foodstuffs immediately ensues in the event of catastrophic droughts. In this connection MfM pays considerable attention to self-initiative and the participation of the population with regard to these developmental assistance programmes.
Those who are initially interested for this purpose function as a model and example for others. Every supported individual has to make a personal contribution, either in the form of work or a minor payment, for instance for more high-yielding livestock. Only in this way is it ensured that the people are not raised to become beggars, but rather learn to stand on their own legs after minor start-up assistance - and subsequently have a more worthwhile life than previously.
MfM mainly relies on indigenous employees in its internal organisational form, and also works closely together with the government. Completed projects (e.g. schools) are planned in co-ordination, and the ongoing operation is taken over by the government after completion.

Altogether, over 4,000 km were covered by jeep during the two weeks of the visit, and over 50 individual projects were visited. According to the assessment of the two Bürkert colleagues, every mark of the donation fund is quite beneficially invested and the improvements are promising. However, there is still quite a bit to do in order to provide a bit of hope for the people in Ethiopia.

MfM in Ethiopia:
Employees                                      594
Project start                                  1982
Project region                32,720 sq.km
Beneficiary population      1.7 million
Field operations                          9,519
Waterholes                                      657
Kindergartens/homes                       4
Seedlings distributed         39 million


Further information:

www.mfm-online.org