Dear All,
We are thankful and appreciative of all that responded to a humanitarian fundraising drive to provide for the daily survival needs for the 2017-year internally displaced Burji families. These families are residents of Hageremariam, a town in the Gujji zone of Oromia. In September through November 2017, homes and properties of the minority Burji community living in Hageremariam were destroyed and some lost lives in the hands of the majority Gujii tribe. Many Burji families were forced to flee. Those who could, fled with only the shirts on their backs, to their ancestral land of the Burji District, located 100 kilometers away. The Burji District with a population of ~80,000 is one of the most underserved, poorest Ethiopian communities. The District’s infrastructure is non-existent and inadequate to withstand the stress put on it by the inflow of the new stream of refugees. It was due to this situation that we decided to assist these displaced families. Our long-term goal is to prevent such human disaster from taking roots by engaging like-minded groups from both tribes to act as a bridge to encourage negotiated settlement.
This fundraising campaign conducted between January to March of 2018 raised $9313 for food and medical assistance for the Hageremariam IDPs. This fund was sent to a bank account opened at the Ethiopian Commercial Bank Soyama branch by a committee of seven elders including members of the displaced people. There are 687 Hageremariam IDPs currently in Soyama town. On April 1, 2018, the committee purchased and distributed the 15 Kg of corn, 3 Kg of beans for food and 200 Birr ($7.30) per person cash allotments for medical expenses for treating the sick children and elderly. The following pictures show some of the IDP families, local dignitaries and Committee members during the grain distribution ceremony. The gathered people including the IDP were very grateful and appreciative of the support. We hope the peace settlement will be reached soon so the IDPs will return back to their home and continue living a life in the surroundings they are used to.
GrowEastAfrica.org a project of Diaspora Burji Community Organization, is a proud supporter of the internally displaced people and all underserved rural families. Currently, we work in the Burji District at Billa Kebele where we distribute three goats per family, and in Soyama town where we collaborate with Soyama Ladies association organizing vegetable garden to improve livelihoods.
Please visit us and support us at the following:
SUPPORT: http://www.GrowEastAfrica.org
CONTACT: GrowEastAfrica@gmail.com
LIKE: https://www.facebook.com/groweastafrica/
CALL: Dr. Yohannes Chonde Cell: 989-430-9652 email: ychonde@gmail.com