In November I am one of 26 people lucky to be selected to go to Ethiopia and work with the charity Ethiopiaid.

Over the next few months I will be arranging lots of fund raising events from fun days, raffles, a sponsored swim and even car washing, so watch this space for further information.  If in the meantime you have any fundraising ideas, please drop me an e-mail as it would be great to hear them.

If you are able to make a donation, no matter how small, every penny will help.  On another note, I will be looking into running a bring and buy sale, possibly on the fun day so if you have anything sitting at home that you've been trying to get rid of then let me know.

Thank you for reading.

Jay

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

About Ethiopiaid

Ethiopiaid aims to create lasting and positive change in by tackling the problems of poverty, ill health and poor education.

As a fundraising organisation, we donate directly to local community projects in . These partners already hold the answers, they simply need a helping hand to carry out their work from people like you.

Ethiopiaid was founded in 1989 by Professor Alec Reed (Chairman of the Reed Recruitment Family of Companies), who visited in the late 1980's and was incredibly moved by the suffering he saw there. Under the patronage of Reed Executive, Ethiopiaid was established to give everyone the opportunity to make a difference.

We focus our efforts solely in . By doing so, we aim to achieve a real difference for those in desperate need by providing vital solutions to the daily hardships being faced. Prevention is the ultimate cure - as such we believe that building people's capacity to help themselves is of great importance if sustainable change is to be made.

To date, Ethiopiaid has donated over £20 million to partner projects in . Currently we are working with 20 dedicated partner projects and we aim to donate approximately £2 million to these deserving causes each year. Poverty and hardship in is still extreme but with your help we can continue to give hope for the future to a country with a tragic past.

What makes Ethiopiaid different?

Ethiopiaid focuses on one country

. By fundraising solely for causes in this country, we are able to concentrate our funds in one area and use our donors' money effectively. Indeed, most of our 20 partners are located in the country's capital, , and surrounding areas. This allows an integrated approach to help make a difference for the whole community.

Ethiopiaid breaks the "colonial" mould

Rather than sending ex-pats to , we raise funds for local, Ethiopian-run charities. These organisations can make a great difference for very little money and are the means by which long-term sustainable change can be achieved.

Ethiopiaid encourages self-sufficiency

We give Ethiopians, who already hold the answers to issues being faced in today, the extra help they need to solve these problems for themselves. We don't want a quick fix. We want lasting change.

How Ethiopiaid Fundraises

Ethiopiaid fundraises mainly through direct mail to both prospective donors and to those who have kindly given in the past. There are five branches of Ethiopiaid: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and the UK. Most branches have just one full-time member of staff.

We find that this is the most cost effective method of fundraising. By keeping promotion and staff costs to an absolute minimum, we ensure that more of your money goes directly to where it is needed. We are currently supporting 20 partners in Ethiopia.

Partners

Ethiopiaid work with trusted local partners, ensuring that all the money we receive goes directly to the people who need it most. These partners have all the answers, we are simply giving them the tools to finish the job.

We support partners across three main areas: Health, Education and Poverty relief.

Please take a look at the amazing work they do.

Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital

Missionaries of Charity - The House of Angels

Cheshire Services

Facing Africa - Noma

Addis Ababa University

Information

www.ethiopiaid.com