Our team in Ethiopia

“I have worked for many organisations and coordinated aid and nutrition programmes. I am just getting to know the work of Menschen für Menschen properly. But one thing is already clear: what makes it unique is its close, long-standing cooperation with the population. I want us to focus on the nutritional problems in the country: many young children are still dying due to malnutrition and undernourishment. We also need to provide access to clean water to prevent gastrointestinal diseases and show people how they can secure their own food supply through agriculture. All areas of the foundation are involved.

The crises of recent years have had a major impact on our healthcare system. For fear of contracting coronavirus, people have missed follow-up appointments, and antiretroviral therapies for HIV and family planning measures have been interrupted. We were unable to carry out large-scale vaccination campaigns, for example against diseases such as polio, as planned. Many people are suffering from psychological trauma as a result of the civil war in the north. I could bury my head in the sand, but the young people in the country give me hope: they want to improve the situation. We must support them in this.”

“When I first saw the topography and vegetation in Boreda, I was delighted: coffee will grow well here, vegetables and fruit will thrive. I live right in the village where we have now set up our tree nursery. So my commute is very short. When I arrive in the morning, I first assign the tasks: preparing the plant pots, filling them with soil mix or seeds, levelling the beds or watering the seedlings. I am the first point of contact for all employees. I also select new applicants. It’s nice that I can give many people a job. Because unemployment is very high here.

Working in the tree nursery makes me proud. Here, we lay the foundations for many other activities in the project: we reforest cleared mountain slopes, stabilise soils and distribute seeds and seedlings to farmers. Some of them already grow coffee traditionally. But the plants are not very productive and are hardly resistant to drought and disease. People are already visiting us to see our coffee growing. They thank us and pray for us. This gives me hope that they are open to change and that we can achieve a lot together.”

“It makes me angry to see that people in rural Ethiopia still suffer from diseases that are easy to prevent or cure. Many diseases can be contained through education. For example, simply by teaching schoolchildren to wash their hands and faces to prevent eye infections.

During my studies, I helped out with an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign run by the foundation as a part-time job. We informed people about the disease and tested them. That’s how I got to know the work of Menschen für Menschen, and I was immediately enthusiastic about it. I have been employed by the foundation since 2015. As head of health projects in Borena, I organise preventive health care measures for children, eye operations and training for medical staff in clinics. We also support orphans who have lost their parents to AIDS with school supplies and a small allowance. I live in staff accommodation on the grounds of the project headquarters. My wife and four-year-old son live almost 200 kilometres away. I only see them about every two months and when I take holiday. I hope that my son will become a doctor one day. Preferably an ophthalmologist. During our cataract operations, I saw how much the procedure can change lives.”

“I want to show my students that they don’t have to hide behind their male classmates. They can achieve anything! I try to be a good role model and know how important good teachers are for young people’s development. Twenty years ago, I was a student at ATTC myself. Some of my lecturers are now my colleagues. We have been on a long journey together.

After graduating, I worked for a while in an edible oil factory before finally returning to college. I started as a lecturer and did my bachelor’s degree on the side. I am currently working on my thesis for a master’s degree, which I am completing at a nearby university.

I am very grateful that the ATTC management has enabled me to continue my education and that I have been able to adapt my teaching to the university timetable. Nevertheless, my life can be very stressful: every morning I get up at six o’clock and prepare breakfast and lunch for my 11-year-old daughter. I take her to the school bus so that I can be at work or in the lecture hall on time a little later. But in the end, I just can’t stop learning. I love acquiring knowledge so that I can pass it on to my students.”

“I am currently responsible for two teams: one takes care of the construction of spring catchments, water supply systems and irrigation systems. The other team carries out deep drilling. Drilling for water can be frustrating: although we can narrow down where we might encounter groundwater, we only know whether it will be sufficient after drilling. Until a year ago, we commissioned companies to carry out the work. If the drilling went wrong, we still had to pay them. It was also difficult to find companies willing to work in our remote project areas. That’s why I pushed for us to purchase our own mobile deep drilling rig. A mobile rig is very expensive, the logistics are complicated and you need trained personnel. But I calculated how much we could save in the long run. Gradually, I was able to convince my colleagues.

I start my day at the office between seven and eight o’clock. The first thing I do is check in with the deep drilling team: How are you getting on? Do you need spare parts? Are there any problems? From time to time, I travel to the project regions myself to inspect the construction of water supply systems, meet with local authorities and accompany the drilling operations. In my position, I am responsible for many employees and expensive machinery. There are hardly any breaks. At the weekend, I take my laptop home with me and am available at all times.”

“I live on the grounds of the children’s home. Immediately after getting up at 6:30 a.m., I take a quick tour to see if everything is in order. My working day begins at 8 a.m. Nearly 50 people are employed here at the home: teachers, laundry workers, guards, cooks. I am their contact person, draw up work schedules and am responsible for the overall budget of the facility. As the director of a children’s home, there are no regular working hours or a guaranteed end to the working day. Sometimes I have to attend a parents’ evening at school or accompany one of the children to hospital in the middle of the night. Over the years, we employees and the children have grown very close. The biggest challenge for us as a team begins when the children, usually as teenagers, start to ask where they come from and what happened to their parents. Each of them has their own file in the office, which they can look at in the presence of our social worker. However, we know very little about some of them, or their stories are very frightening. I feel blessed that, in addition to my three biological children, so many others see me as their father. Seeing them grow up safely with us and seeing them laugh for the first time makes me very happy.”

“Studying at ATTC prepared me well for my job. I feel confident in my daily tasks: in the workshop, I repair the foundation’s vehicles together with my colleagues. I also regularly check the oil level, the condition of the tyres, brakes and gearbox. In addition to ours, there are small workshops in all project areas. But when the mechanics get stuck or are missing parts, the cars are transported to us or we visit our colleagues on site. A few months ago, for example, I was in Mettu at the Abdii Borii Children’s Home. Even though I am happy to have my degree and earn my own money, I miss life at the ATTC: the lessons, the friends, the food and the many shared experiences. To this day, I am still in close contact with my former fellow students. From time to time, former teachers visit the project headquarters. This makes me feel like I am still part of the ATTC family. I am very grateful for that. My father died ten years ago. My mother moved from my home village to live with my brother in Addis Ababa. Today, I take care of my mother: I have taken her in and can now give her something back for her years of support.”